Los Angeles
Nets fall to Cavs
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots during the first quarter of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jan 22, in Los Angeles.
PHILADELPHIA, Jan 23, (AP): Joel Embiid had 38 points and 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris scored 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 122-110.
Seth Curry returned to the Sixers’ starting lineup following a seven-game absence because of a positive COVID-19 test and scored 15 points.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 42 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Smart had 20 points.
Embiid followed a 42-point outing in a win over Boston on Wednesday night with another fantastic effort. He made 14 of 15 from the free-throw line -- a near-flawless retort after some mild criticism from Smart.
Smart said Embiid “flails and gets the calls” after the All-Star center went to the line 21 times in his 42-point game. The Celtics shot just 20 free throws in that loss and none in the fourth quarter.
Cavaliers 125, Nets 113
In Cleveland, Collin Sexton had 25 points and nine assists, Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds and Cleveland beat Brooklyn for the second time in three days.
Nets superstar forward Kevin Durantwas held out as a precautionary measure as he continues his comeback from right Achilles tendon surgery.
BASKETBALL
Kyrie Irving scored 38 points, and James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which lost 147135 in double-overtime to the Cavaliers in the debut of its high-scoring trio Wednesday night. Durant scored 38 points in that game and played 50 minutes, so the Nets rested him Friday with another game scheduled Saturday.
Nuggets 130, Suns126, OT
In Phoenix, Nikola Jokic scored 31 points, Gary Harris added 19 and Denver rallied to force overtime before beating Phoenix.
Will Barton pushed the Nuggets ahead 124-123 with 1:37 left in overtime on a driving layup and Jamal Murray’s 13-foot jumper put them up three points with 28.5 seconds left. Denver held on from that point, winning for the third time in four games to improve to 8-7 this season.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points but took a hard fall late in overtime and didn’t play the final few possessions. Phoenix’s offense looked out of synch without its leading scorer on the floor and didn’t score a field goal after he left.
Rockets 103, Pistons 102
In Detroit, Jerami Grant’s driving layup on the final play came too late, and Houston held on to beat Detroit.
Down one with 3.4 seconds remaining, the Pistons inbounded to Grant, who faked a handoff to Blake Griffin and then drove down the right side of the lane. Time clearly ran out before he laid the ball in, but he was also bumped by Houston’s P.J. Tucker. Replays showed that contact also came after time expired, and after a review, the game ended.
Eric Gordon scored 20 points for Houston. Grant scored 21 points for Detroit, which rallied from a 20-point second-quarter deficit and nearly erased a four-point gap late in the fourth.
Pacers 120, Magic 118, OT
In Indianapolis, Malcolm Brogdon hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in overtime, lifting Indiana past Orlando.
Evan Fournier’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer for Orlando.