Embiid, Harden help 76ers blow by Knicks to win 8th straight
NEW YORK – Joel Embiid scored 35 points, James Harden had 29 points and 13 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers blew by the New York Knicks in the final quarter, extending their winning streak to eight games with a 119-112 victory Sunday.
Georges Niang hit four 3-pointers in Philadelphia’s fourth-quarter surge and finished with 16 points, while De’Anthony Melton added 15 as the 76ers got off to a good start on a fourgame road trip after sweeping a seven-game homestand.
The Sixers never led through three quarters, then outscored the Knicks 24-9 to open the fourth, turning a one-point deficit into a 116-102 lead.
Julius Randle scored 35 points and Jalen Brunson had 23 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who have lost three straight following an eight-game winning streak.
Embiid scored 15 points in the third quarter and Harden took over the game when Embiid went to the bench, with a four-point play and another 3-pointer that trimmed it to 96-95. He made another 3 in the opening minute of the fourth to tie it at 98, then found Niang for a 3 that gave the 76ers their first lead with 10:37 to play.
Niang hit consecutive 3s midway through the period before Embiid had two baskets and Harden made one and set up the other in a 8-0 flurry that put it away at 116-102.
Embiid, the NBA’s scoring leader, started slowly and the Knicks led 37-25 after one.
They were still up eight when Embiid scored with 6.2 seconds remaining, and when Brunson lost the ball as New York tried to get a final shot, Shake Milton scooped it up and banked in a 50-footer at the buzzer that made it 63-60.
Mavericks 124, Lakers 115: Luka Doncic scored 32 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 of his 26 points in a huge third quarter for Dallas and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 on Sunday.
Christian Wood added 30 points and tied a
career high with seven assists as the Mavericks finished off a celebration of Dirk Nowitzki’s statue unveiling by winning just the second Christmas Day home game in franchise history.
Dallas took its first lead during a 51-point third quarter, the highest-scoring quarter on Christmas in NBA history and a league-best this season. Golden State and Orlando have each had a 50-point quarter.
LeBron James scored 38 points, one shy of his season high, and the Lakers led by 12 early in the third before the Mavericks took over. Wood started the surge with a 3-pointer, and Dallas was within one when Doncic had a chance to challenge James at the rim but passed to Hardaway for a corner 3 and the first Dallas lead at 65-63.