Suns escape with win after Embiid’s 85-foot toss rattles in and out
LOS ANGELES: Chris Paul scored a team high 28 points as the Phoenix Suns escaped Philadelphia with a 116-113 NBA win on Wednesday after Joel Embiid’s 85-foot desperation heave at the buzzer rattled off the rim.
The Suns would need all of Paul’s points and eight assists, including his final free throw because Embiid’s one-handed toss – almost the full length of the court – hit the backboard then bounced off the front and the back of the rim before falling away as time expired.
“When I threw it, it looked good,” Embiid said.
Shooting guard Devin Booker added 19 points as he and point guard Paul have combined to become the best backcourt in the NBA this season, giving the Suns the right mix of youth and experience to make a deep run through the postseason.
Phoenix improved to 42-16 on the season and are in second place in the Western Conference.
The Sixers lost consecutive home games for the first time this season but it came as no huge surprise as they were missing three of their starters Ben Simmons (illness), Tobias Harris (knee) and Seth Curry (hip).
“I know we got a lot of guys out, but we still want to win the game,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said.
The Suns on the other hand have been the best road team in the league, steamrolling their way through opponents by winning six of their last seven games on the road.
Mikal Bridges had 18, Cameron Johnson contributed 15 points and DeAndre Ayton tallied 10 for the Suns.
Embiid led the Sixers with 38 points and 17 rebounds. Danny Green scored 18 points, Tyrese Maxey added 14, Furkan Korkmaz put up 12 and George Hill had 11. Booker’s long jumper with just over two minutes left gave the Suns a 109-101 lead, but a three by Korkmaz with two seconds left cut the deficit to two. Paul made one of two free throws with 0.8 seconds left for a 116-113 lead.
“If you’re up three, I always want to make the free throw to go up four,” Paul said.
“That shot was in-and-out. I ain’t never seen anything like it.”
On the very next possession, Embiid launched his one-handed Hail Mary that would have sent the game into overtime.
“It would have made for a long flight, long night and not a lot of sleep,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
Elsewhere, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s 11-game streak of scoring at least 30 points was snapped in a 118-114 loss to the Washington Wizards.
Curry shot seven-of-25 from the floor, including a seasonworst two-for-14 from beyond the arc, and finished with 18 points.
“It was a special ride for sure. There were some historical names I was able to pass,” Curry said.
“Now I got to start another one.”
Curry became the first player since Kobe Bryant to score at least 30 points in 10 straight games
Also, Pascal Siakam scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 114103 for their fourth straight win.
Kyrie Irving had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the short-handed Nets. Bruce Brown had 21 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.
In Portland, Nikola Jokic had 25 points and nine rebounds, Michael Porter scored 17 points as the Denver Nuggets won their fourth straight by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 106-105.