Kyrie Irving returns with 37 points, but Nets fall to Cavaliers in double overtime.
Cleveland Kyrie Irving returned from his personal “pause” to score 37 points in his first game with Kevin Durant and James Harden, but the new-look, star-studded Brooklyn Nets gave up 42 to Collin Sexton and lost 147-135 in double overtime to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Sexton scored 15 points in the second OT — most of them over Irving — for the Cavs, who outplayed the Nets all night. Sexton dropped two 3-pointers and fed Taurean Prince for another in a span of 55 seconds as Cleveland put away Brooklyn.
Durant led Brooklyn with 38 points and Harden added 21. But Brooklyn’s “Big 3” couldn’t do enough to outlast Sexton, who missed Cleveland’s past five games with a sprained ankle.
76ers 117, Celtics 109: Joel Embiid had 42 points and 10 rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 22 points to lead Philadelphia over Boston. Embiid is off to the best start of his career and topped 40 points for the second time in three games. He shot 12 of 19 from the floor (one 3-pointer) and was 17-for-21 from the free-throw line. He did it in 34 minutes and scored 20 points in a half (22 in the first) for the fifth time this season. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points and Marcus Smart had 25.
Hawks 123, Pistons 115 (OT): Trae Young scored 38 points, John Collins had 31 and Atlanta rallied to beat Jerami Grant and Detroit in overtime. Shenendehowa graduate Kevin Huerter scored 17 points for the Hawks.
Heat 111, Raptors 102:
Kendrick Nunn scored 28 points and injury-plagued Miami pulled away in the second half for a win over Toronto. Bam Adebayo had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Miami, and Kelly Olynyk added 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Magic 97, Timberwolves 96:
Cole Anthony hit a hurried 3-pointer at the buzzer and Orlando stunned Minnesota to stop a six-game losing streak.
Mavericks 124, Pacers 111: Kristaps Porzingis posted season-high totals of 27 points and 12 rebounds in leading Dallas to a victory at Indiana.
Coronavirus: Contact tracing issues for the Memphis Grizzlies meant they would not have enough players eligible to play in Portland on Wednesday night, leading to the 16th game postponement for coronavirus-related reasons by the NBA this season. Also Wednesday: The NBA said 11 new players in the past week have tested positive for COVID-19, down from 16 the previous week but still higher than what the norm has been since training camps opened in early December. Of the 16 postponements, 15 have come since Jan. 10 and the number could rise again soon, since Memphis is also scheduled to play in Portland on Friday. The league has not made any announcement about whether that game will happen as planned.