NBA...
eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Miami.
Serge Ibaka had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto. Kyle Lowry scored 15 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 13 and OG Anunoby had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors shot only 31.5% and were 6 for 42 from 3-point range.
That came after Miami had a long practice Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time), upset with how its defense was awful the night before in a loss to Washington.
There was a pregame tribute and moment of silence for former NBA Commissioner David Stern, who died Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) at the age of 77. Both the Raptors and the Heat were born under Stern’s leadership of the league.
Clippers beat Pistons 126-112; George leaves with hamstring tightness
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Montrezl Harrell scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers survived without Paul George in the second half to beat the Detroit Pistons 126-112 on Thursday night (Friday, PHL time), winning consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 13 (Dec. 14, PHL time).
George didn’t return after halftime because of left hamstring tightness. He finished with 12 points.
Lou Williams added 22 points and Kawhi Leonard had 18 in three quarters for the Clippers, who had alternated wins and losses for nearly three weeks.
Bruce Brown led nine Pistons in double figures with 15 points. Andre Drummond added 10 points and 12 rebounds. They’ve lost four in a row on the road and eight of nine overall.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Dallas Mavericks pull away for a 123-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night (Friday, PHL time).
Seth Curry finished with 25 points while keeping the Mavericks even with the Nets with Doncic sitting late in the third quarter and Nos. 2 and 3 scorers Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. out with injuries.
Maxi Kleber scored a season-high 18 points to help the Mavericks avoid their first three-game losing streak in the opener of a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Doncic remained tied with Jason Kidd for the franchise record for tripledoubles in one season with nine. That's in part because the 20-year-old had seven assists while taking more of the scoring load. The 2019 Rookie of the Year had 13 rebounds.
Porzingis is nursing a sore right knee — not the one he injured in what ended up being his final game for the Knicks almost two years ago — and Hardaway is working back from a hamstring strain. They've both missed the past two games.
Spencer Dinwiddie led seven Brooklyn players in double figures with 19 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Nets from losing their fourth straight game for the first time this season.
Heat clamp down on defense, top Raptors 84-76
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and the Miami Heat put together their best defensive performance of the season in an 84-76 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night (Friday, PHL time).
Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic each scored 13 points for Miami, which is now 2-0 against the Raptors this season and improved to 9-0 after a loss. The Heat and Milwaukee are the only teams to not lose consecutive games this season.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 10 points and Jimmy Butler finished with