Embiid, Harris help lead 76ers
PHILADELPHIA >> Joel Embiid had 29 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 144-114 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Philadelphia tied its franchise record of 21 3-pointers, last set on March 1, 2020.
Tobias Harris added 23 points and had a seasonhigh five three-pointers as the Sixers placed seven players in double figures and was able to play their bench for the majority of the fourth quarter.
“We were able to move the ball well,” Embiid said. “I was extremely happy with the way that we played today because (of) the pace and how we moved the ball around and found our shooters.”
James Harden had 12 points and 13 assists for Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey had 19 points and four assists for the Sixers (47-30), who can clinch a playoff berth with a win on Sunday against Cleveland.
Miles Bridges had 20 points for Charlotte, which has already wrapped up a berth in the East's play-in tournament. PJ Washington had 14 points while LaMelo Ball added 13 for the Hornets.
“They made shots and you have to give them credit,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “They made shots. There were a few rotations where we could have been better with Embiid — the easy stuff at the rim with the rolls. Sometimes, you have to pick your poison when they hit their shots.”
CAVALIERS 119, KNICKS 101 >> Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead Cleveland past New York.
Caris LeVert finished with 19 points. Moses Brown and Isaac Okoro each added 16. Brown also had 13 rebounds. Kevin Love had 15 off the bench. Cedi Osman and Lauri Markkanen both added 10 for Cleveland.
HAWKS 122, NETS 115 >> Trae Young scored 36 points, including nine in the final minute, and streaking Atlanta overcame Kevin Durant's career-high 55 points to hold off Brooklyn for its fifth consecutive win.
Atlanta (41-37) moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of Brooklyn (40-38) and Charlotte.
Durant set another career high by making eight 3-pointers.
HEAT 127, BULLS 109 >> Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro added 19 apiece and Eastern Conference-leading Miami beat Chicago.
Bam Adebayo scored 16, and the hot-shooting Heat (50-28) reached the 50-win mark for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
Miami also increased its lead over second-place Milwaukee to 1 1/2 games and moved within a win of securing home-court advantage in Round 1 of the postseason. If the Heat go 3-1 the rest of the way, they'll clinch the top seed in the East.