Harden, 76ers victorious over made-over Nets

Joel Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds, James Harden scored 29 points in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded a year ago to begin a Big Three breakup, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Nets 10198 on Saturday night.

The 76ers got a victory instead of overtime when Spencer Dinwiddie’s 3-pointer was ruled too late after a video review.

Harden added six rebounds and six assists after being booed in introductions and then early in the game. He arrived in January 2021 to play with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then asked out and was gone just 13 months later, swapped in a deal for Ben Simmons at last year’s trade deadline.

Now Durant and Irving are also gone, traded this week.

Mikal Bridges scored 23 points in his first game with the Nets, but missed a layup that would have given the Nets the lead with about 2 seconds left. Harden then made two free throws with 0.9 seconds to go, and Dinwiddie’s shot after a timeout was too late.

The Nets started Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, the four players they acquired this week from Phoenix for Durant and Dallas for Irving. The Nets had the look of a tough defensive team that will miss the scoring of their All-Stars, managing only one basket in the last 61/2 minutes.

The Nets were ahead by nine midway through the fourth quarter before Embiid capped an 8-0 run with a basket that cut it to 96-95 with 3:55 remaining. Harden’s free throws gave Philadelphia the lead for good with 5.2 to play.

NUGGETS 119, HORNETS 105 >>

Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and Denver handed host Charlotte its seventh straight defeat.

Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 6245 in the second half.

LaMelo Ball tallied 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Charlotte.

WIZARDS 127, PACERS 113 >>

Bradley Beal scored 32 points, Kristaps Porzingis and Monte Morris added 17 apiece and Washington shot 70% from the field through the first three quarters of its rout over visiting Indiana.

The Wizards led 80-57 after its highest-scoring half of the season.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 21 points for Indiana, which has lost 15 of its last 17.

HAWKS 125, SPURS 106 >>

Trae Young had 24 points and a season-high 17 assists, De’Andre Hunter added 24 points and Atlanta won at home over reeling San Antonio.

The Spurs (14-43) have lost a season-high 12 straight. Atlanta (29-28) has won two straight and four of six.

CAVALIERS 97, BUCKS 89 >>

Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 10 rebounds, rallying host Cleveland past Chicago for its sixth win in a row.

Mitchell added 10 rebounds and Darius Garland scored 19 for Cleveland, which trailed 61-48 in the third quarter before unleashing a 43-17 run.

Zach LaVine scored 23 points and Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago.

KNICKS 126, JAZZ 120 >>

Jalen Brunson scored 22 of his 38 points in the first half and New York outlasted visiting Utah.

Julius Randle added 31 points for New York, which has won three of four.

Lauri Markkanen had 29 points to lead the Jazz, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

HEAT 107, MAGIC 103, OT >>

Tyler Herro scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 22, Gabe Vincent had 20, including a 3-pointer to start the extra period, and Miami rallied to win at Orlando.

Paolo Banchero had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando.

Bam Adebayo finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for the Heat.