Thunder edge 76ers in triple overtime
Russell Westbrook had 27 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists, and Oklahoma City and the Philadelphia 76ers went basket-for-basket in a threeovertime thriller before the visiting Thunder pulled out a 119-117 victory on Friday night.
Andre Roberson hit the winning shot with 10 seconds left. But one of the early contenders for NBA game of the year belonged to Joel Embiid and Westbrook as they drove, blocked and rebounded their way toward one big play after another.
Embiid scored 34 points in 48 minutes with an achy back and rallied the Sixers from a 17-point hole.
Embiid, Philly’s franchise center and social media star, grabbed his lower back when he took a hard foul on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter.
Embiid sucked it up and carried the Sixers in the fourth and the first overtime. His fed a charging Ben Simmons on the baseline for a two-handed dunk that tied the score at 94-all with 53 seconds left in the fourth. The Sixers closed the fourth on an 11-0 run. Rockets 124, Spurs 109: Chris Paul had 28 points, eight assists and seven steals to lead host Houston to its 12th straight victory. Paul became the first player in NBA history to post 28 points, eight assists and seven steals in a game against the Spurs. His performance came on a night the Rockets’ James Harden had one of his worst three-point shooting nights of the season, making 2 of 11 from beyond the arc. Harden had 28 points. Jazz 107, Celtics 95: Ricky Rubio had 22 points and Donovan Mitchell added 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds to power visiting Utah. Jazz center Rudy Gobert left early in the first quarter with a left knee injury after teammate Derrick Favors fell backward into his leg. Later, the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown caught Favors with from stitches an his elbow, and left eye. did leaving not Favors return. him received bleeding six Nuggets 117, Pelicans 111: Gary Harris had 21 points and Will Barton added 11 of his 19 points in overtime, helping host Denver beat New Orleans. Barton went 4-for-4 from the field in the extra period and had all of the Nuggets’ points in the frame before Jamal Murray’s two free throws made it 116-110 with 25 seconds remaining. Grizzlies 96, Hawks 94: Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, two on a go-ahead layup with 1:03 left, to help host Memphis snap a five-game losing streak. Atlanta had three shots in the closing seconds, all of which misfired. Pistons 104, Pacers 98: Andre Drummond finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and visiting Detroit withstood a late rally to beat Indiana. Reggie Bullock finished with 15 points for Detroit. The Pacers outscored Detroit 19-5 during the final eight minutes. Wizards 100, Clippers 91: Mike Scott scored 22 points and Bradley Beal added 20 to help host Washington hold off Los Angeles. John Wall scored 15 points, including seven as the Wizards closed the game on an 18-9 run. Heat 104, Hornets 98: Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington scored 16 points each and Miami held off a late rally to beat host Charlotte. Johnson and Ellington combined for 10-of-16 shooting on three-pointers. Trail Blazers 95, Magic 88: Damian Lillard scored 21 points, CJ McCollum had 20 and visiting Portland withstood a late rally to beat Orlando. The Trail Blazers led by 17 with 7:26 left in the game, but didn’t seal their victory until a breakaway dunk by Al-Farouq Aminu with 23 seconds left to play. Raptors 120, Nets 87: DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his 11th career triple-double as host Toronto won its ninth straight meeting with Brooklyn. Serge Ibaka scored 18 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 for Toronto. Bulls 115, Bucks 109: Bobby Portis scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as visiting Chicago won its fifth consecutive game. Nikola Mirotic had 22 points for the Bulls. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 16 rebounds for Milwaukee.