Embiid helps hold off Hawks
Joel Embiid had 38 points and 14 rebounds and shook off an injury scare in the late minutes to help the Philadelphia 76ers hold off the Atlanta Hawks, 125-114, on Friday night.
Embiid appeared to injure his left leg on a drive down the lane with just over 4 1/2 minutes left as he tried to make a move in the lane with Atlanta ahead 109-108. Even while hunched over and walking with a limp, Embiid remained in the game and scored six points in the final moments, grabbing two rebounds along the way.
Tyrese Maxey added 30 points for Philadelphia, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:20 to play in a 13-0 run. The 76ers improved to 14-7 with their second straight victory.
De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 24 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dejounte Murray each added 20. Star guard Trae Young sat out because of an illness.
Magic 123, Pistons 91:
Franz Wagner scored 27 points, Paolo Banchero added 24 and host Orlando handed Detroit its 19th straight loss.
Detroit is 2-20, with the losing streak the longest in one season in franchise history and second-longest overall behind a 21-game slide at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81.
The streak is the longest in the NBA since Houston lost 20 straight in 2020-21. The 76ers hold both NBA records, setting the single- season mark at 26 in a row in 201314 and the overall mark at 28 at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 21 points.
Celtics 133, Knicks 123:
Derrick White scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 21 after missing four games because of a strained left calf to help host Boston beat New York.
Jayson Tatum added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists to help Boston improve to 10-0 at home. Jaylen Brown scored 17 points before he was ejected after getting two technical fouls midway into the final quarter.
RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points apiece.
Nets 124, Wizards 97:
Mikal Bridges scored 21 points and host Brooklyn routed Washington for its third straight victory and fifth in six games.
Cam Thomas added 17 points, Day’Ron Sharpe had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Nic Claxton finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. At 12-9, the Nets are a season-best three games over .500.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 17 points, and Deni Advija had 15 points and had seven rebounds.
Hornets 119, Raptors 116:
Gordon Hayward scored 24 points, Miles Bridges added 22 and the hot-shooting Charlotte Hornets survived Scottie Barnes’ triple-double to beat visiting Toronto.
Terry Rozier had 21 points and 13 assists and rookie Brandon Miller added 20 points for the Hornets, who shot 55.7% from the field, 52% from beyond the 3-point arc and made 18 of 20 free throws.
Barnes had 31 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 3pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
Cavaliers 111, Heat 99:
Donovan Mitchell had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Darius Garland shook off early foul trouble to score 18 points and Cleveland beat host Miami Heat.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points for the Heat.