76ers, with free throw binge, hold off Magic in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Seth Curry scored 24 points, Tobias Harris had 17 and the host 76ers needed free throws in the final minute to beat the Orlando Magic 101-96 on Monday night.
The Magic showed grit in a fiery second half and rallied from 16 down to tie it 93-all on Mo Bamba’s dunk with 57 seconds left. The Magic bench erupted with the team on the brink of upset.
The Sixers hung on from the line. Ty Maxey made two for the lead, Joel Embiid hit 3 of 4 and Maxey added two more to help the Sixers avoid a defeat. Embiid scored 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 27 points. Jalen Suggs had 17, but ESPN reported that the rookie from Gonzaga fractured his left thumb and will be out for several weeks.
Jazz 129, Trail Blazers 107: Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and host Utah beat Portland. Jordan Clarkson added 22 points for the Jazz, who used quick passes and spacing to make 19 3-pointers and shot 53% from the field a game after making a season-high 20 3s. Utah matched its season high with 46 field goals.
Cavaliers 114, Mavericks 96: Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen notched season highs with 28 and 24 points respectively, and visiting Cleveland dominated Dallas for its most lopsided win of the season.
Spurs 116, Wizards 99: Derrick White had 24 points, Dejounte Murray had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and host San Antonio won consecutive games for the first time this season. Bradley Beal had 18 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 and Spencer Dinwiddie had 16 for Washington.
Nuggets 120, Heat 111: Nikola Jokic, who missed the previous four games with a wrist injury, returned to score 24 points and grab 15 rebounds and Aaron Gordon added 20 points as visiting Denver snapped a six-game losing streak. Bones Hyland scored 19 and Will Barton added 14 for the Nuggets.
Bulls 133, Hornets 119: Nikola Vucevic had a season-best 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Zach LaVine had 25 for host Chicago. Terry Rozier scored 31 points and Gordon
Hayward finished with 22 for Charlotte, which fell to 0-2 on its fourgame trip.
T’wolves 100, Pacers 98: KarlAnthonyTowns scored 32 points and D’Angelo Russell hit two clutch free throws with 4.7 seconds left as host Minnesota held off Indiana.
Rockets 102, Thunder 89: Christian Wood had 24 points and 21 rebounds as host Houston won its third in a row. Kevin Porter Jr. contributed a tripledouble of 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Garrison Mathews scored 19 points for the Rockets. The Rockets’ winning streak follows a 15-game skid, while the loss was the sixth straight for Oklahoma City.
Briefly: Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. needs surgery to address his latest back injury, and there’s no known timetable for his return. Porter, who dealt with a serious back problem in college, has been limited to nine games this season . ... Nets guard Joe Harris is expected to be sidelined at least four weeks after undergoing ankle surgery, the team said . ... Knicks point guard Kemba Walker, a fourtime All-Star, is out of the team’s rotation “as of right now,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. New York has been outscored by 122 points this season when playing Walker, who owns the worst defensive rating on the squad.