Embiid leads Sixers to 7th straight win
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers extended their season-high win streak to seven with a 116105 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
Six 76ers scored in double figures. Ben Simmons had 17 points and seven assists, and 3-point specialist J.J. Redick added 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting — and just one 3-pointer. Marco Belinelli had 15 points, Robert Covington had 12 and Dario Saric scored 11.
HEAT 115, GRIZZLIES 89: Tyler Johnson scored 23 points to lead six players in double figures, and the Miami Heat stopped a three-game slide when they beat the reeling Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies lost their ninth game in a row, the longest active streak in the NBA, and their second in as many nights. Justise Winslow scored a season-high 17 points for the Heat. Reserve Wayne Ellington went 5 for 10 from 3-point range and scored 15.
CELTICS 121, KNICKS 112: Kyrie Irving had 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading the Boston Celtics over the New York Knicks for their second victory in two nights since the AllStar break.
Irving scored 15 points in a dazzling third quarter and then helped the Celtics finish it off with his passing in the fourth, highlighted by a behindthe-back dish to Jaylen Brown for a dunk that made it 115-106. WARRIORS 112, THUNDER 80: Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Golden State while avenging an embarrassing home loss to his former Oklahoma City team earlier this month and another on the road in November, leading the Warriors past the Thunder. Stephen Curry added 21 points with five 3-pointers, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals as Golden State put on the kind of defensive performance coach Steve Kerr has been seeking from the defending champs. TIMBERWOLVES 122, BULLS 104: Jeff Teague scored 25 points, Andrew Wiggins added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves — playing their first game since All-Star Jimmy Butler was injured — beat the Chicago Bulls. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 53rd double-double of the season. Jamal Crawford scored 19 off the bench for the Timberwolves, including three 3-pointers that keyed a 16-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter and put them comfortably ahead for good. JAZZ 97, MAVERICKS 90: Donovan Mitchell had 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks for their 12th win in 13 games. Derrick Favors scored 14 points for Utah (31-29), which had won 11 in a row before Friday night’s 100-81 loss to Portland. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 10 rebounds. TRAIL BLAZERS 106, SUNS 104: Damian Lillard scored 40 points, the last two on a driving, left-handed layup with nine-tenths of a second to play, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from 15 down in the final 7 ½ minutes to hand the Suns their ninth straight loss. Lillard, who scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, got the final chance because Phoenix’s Troy Daniels couldn’t get the ball inbounds on a fivesecond call that turned possession over to Portland with 20.6 seconds to play.
Devin Booker scored 30 points for the Suns, losers of 14 of their last 15.