76ers top Heat in OT as Embiid scores 45
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 45 points and 16 rebounds, Dakota Mathias’ only basket of the game was a go-ahead 3pointer with 26.1 seconds left and the Philadelphia 76ers hung on to beat the undermanned Miami Heat 137-134 in overtime on Tuesday night.
Embiid had one of the great games of his career and carried the Sixers with a perfect third quarter and clutch buckets in OT to put them on the brink of victory.
It was little-known Mathias with the stunner that won it. Mathias, who went undrafted in 2018 and signed this season with the Sixers as a twoday G League player, got the ball from the top of the arc and buried it for the 134-132 lead.
With Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic among the Heat sitting out for Covid-related reasons, they pushed the Sixers into OT with a mad-dash end to the fourth.
Embiid buried a jumper just inside the 3-point arc with 3.3 seconds left that tied it 120-120 and sent the game into overtime. It was his only bucket of the fourth after he made all eight shots in the third.
NETS 122, NUGGETS 116
Kevin Durant had 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, Bruce Brown made a huge contribution while starting for the absent Kyrie Irving, and Brooklyn rallied from 18 down to beat Denver at New York.
Brown scored 16 points, including the tying and go-ahead baskets down the stretch. Durant followed with Brooklyn’s next six points, including a 3-pointer that essentially put it away at 120-113 with 27 seconds to play.
Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who were trying to sweep a three-game road trip.
LAKERS 117, ROCKETS 100
Lebron James scored 26 points in just more than three quarters and Los Angeles never trailed in winning at Houston.
Anthony Davis added 19 points and 10 rebounds in three quarters to help the Lakers to their second straight blowout over the Rockets after a 120-102 victory Sunday night.
Christian Wood had 18 points and eight rebounds and James Harden had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
After the game, Harden publicly acknowledged his discord with the Rockets for the first time.
“We’re just not good enough … I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can,” Harden said. “I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
PACERS 104, WARRIORS 95
Myles Turner scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana rallied to win at San Francisco.
The 6-11 Turner, in his sixth season out of Texas, hit three 3-pointers, including one that tied the game at 80 and another that gave the Pacers the lead for good at 93-90 with 2:59 remaining.
JAZZ 117, CAVALIERS 87
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Utah rolled past injury-depleted Cleveland, wrapping up their six-game road trip.
The Jazz are headed home with a 4-2 record on its 10-day journey.
Jordan Clarkson had 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points for the Jazz, whose largest lead was 114-80 late in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Miye Oni.
Cleveland center Andre Drummond (right Achilles bruise), averaging an NBAhigh 15.1 rebounds, was a late scratch. The Cavaliers also were without shooting guard Collin Sexton, power forward Kevin Love, point guard Darius Garland and four other rotation players.
POSTPONEMENT TOLL AT 5
The NBA says Wednesday’s game between the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards has been postponed because of COVID-19 protocols.
The league says because of contact tracing, the Wizards don’t have the required eight available players to take the floor for their scheduled home game against the Jazz.
The postponement is the fifth in the NBA since Sunday, including three involving the Boston Celtics. The latest is Wednesday’s home game against Orlando.