Flu doesn’t stop Embiid, 76ers from victory
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 26 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 18 and the resurgent Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 94-89 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in nine games.
Embiid, who was questionable because of the flu, surpassed 20 points in fewer than 30 minutes in his 10th straight game.
With Embiid leading the way, the Sixers are no longer the NBA’s laughingstock. They’re only 14-26 but have rejuvenated a city that has patiently waited for a winner through three miserable seasons.
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 for the Atlantic Divisionleading Raptors, and Kyle Lowry had 24 points.
After DeRozan gave Toronto an 86-85 lead, Embiid made a tying free throw. Embiid then grabbed a rebound after DeRozan missed a jumper and T.J. McConnell’s layup put Philadelphia ahead 88-86 with 1:09 left. Cory Joseph missed a 3pointer on Toronto’s ensuing possession and McConnell sank a pair of free throws.
• Wizards 104, Grizzlies 101 — At Washington: John Wall had 25 points and 13 assists, and the Wizards earned their 13th consecutive home win.
James Ennis III missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer for Memphis.
The Wizards are just 4-13 on the road but now 18-6 at home, where they’ve compiled their longest winning streak since a 15-game run in the 1988-89 season.
Washington never trailed and led by as many as 19 points in the first half, then held on after a 10-0 run by Memphis made it a twopoint game with 2 1/2 minutes left. That’s when Wall took over, scoring on consecutive drives.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 28 points, and Mike Conley had 20.
• Rockets 111, Bucks 92 — At Houston: James Harden had 38 points, eight assists and six rebounds, powering the Rockets to the win.
Harden drilled a straightaway 3-pointer with six minutes left to give Houston a 13point lead and shimmied his shoulders down the court in a celebratory dance as the Bucks called timeout.
Eric Gordon made seven 3pointers and scored 25 points for the Rockets, who had dropped three of four.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks for Milwaukee, which was outscored 30-12 in the second quarter.
• Knicks 117, Celtics 106 — At Boston: Derrick Rose matched his season high with 30 points, helping the slumping Knicks to the road win.
New York played without injured starters Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah, but Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Willy Hernangomez each scored 17 points. It was just the third win in 14 games for the Knicks.
Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 39 points, his 13th time this season with 30 or more points. Jae Crowder added 21 for the Celtics, who lost for only the fourth time in 17 games.
• Hornets 107, Trail Blazers 85 — At Charlotte, N.C.: Kemba Walker scored 23 points, Roy Hibbert provided a huge boost off the bench, and Charlotte stopped a five-game slide.
Nicolas Batum added 17 points for the Hornets, who limited the Trail Blazers to 35 percent shooting and snapped an eight-game streak of allowing at least 100 points. Hibbert, who came in averaging 5.2 points per game, had a season-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including an alley-oop pass intended for Frank Kaminsky that inadvertently went in.
Damian Lillard scored 21 points and C.J. McCollum had 18 for Portland, which has lost three straight and 16 of 22 since Dec. 5.
• Pistons 118, Hawks 95 — At Auburn Hills, Mich.: Reggie Jackson scored 26 points to lead the balanced Pistons to the win.
Each of Detroit’s starters scored in double figures, and the Pistons shot 49.5 percent from the field. Tobias Harris had 19 points, Reggie Bullock finished with 15 and Andre Drummond added 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Detroit raced out to a 42-18 first-quarter lead and never trailed.
Paul Millsap had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who had won nine of 10. Dennis Schroder added 13 points and six assists.
• Pelicans 118, Magic 98 — At New Orleans: Anthony Davis had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and New Orleans cruised past short-handed Orlando.
Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway added 18 points apiece for the Pelicans, who never trailed after the first quarter and extended their lead to as many as 28 points.
Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton each had 14 points for Orlando, which finished 1-5 on a season-long sixgame trip that featured five games in the last eight days. The Magic played their third straight game without leading scorer Evan Fournier, who is out with a bruised right heel.