Milton, Simmons fuel Philly’s win over Heat
Rockets win in first game since big trade
PHILADELPHIA — Shake Milton scored 31 points and Ben Simmons had 10 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a 125-108 win over Miami on Thursday night.
The Sixers swept the two-game home set against a Heat team that continues to play with a depleted roster because of COVID-related issues. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic sat out, and the Heat was roughed up early by Milton, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris.
Consider, the 76ers led 73-58 at the break — with only nine combined points from All-Stars Joel Embiid and Simmons.
Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 22 points.
ROCKETS 109, SPURS 105: In San Antonio, Texas, Christian Wood had 27 points and 15 rebounds as Houston rallied to beat San Antonio in its first game since trading away franchise cornerstone James Harden.
Sterling Brown, who took Harden’s spot in the starting lineup, had 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
RAPTORS 111, HORNETS 108: In Tampa, Fla., Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry had 16 points as Toronto beat Charlotte.
Pascal Siakam added 15 points and seven rebounds as Toronto ended a two-game skid.
PACERS 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 87: In Portland, Ore., Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Indiana past Portland.
Malcolm Brogdon added 25 points and seven assists for the Pacers, who improved to 4-1 on the road this season.
NUGGETS 114, WARRIORS 104: In Denver, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Denver past Golden State. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points.
VIRUS: The Boston Celtics expect their unplanned weeklong hiatus because of corona virus related issues to end Friday, when they’re scheduled to play host to
the Orlando Magic.
The Phoenix Suns, however, have a bit more time off coming.
The Celtics will be without at least three players Friday, including All-Star forward Jayson
Tatum, because of the league’s health and safety protocols. But four others are apparently on the cusp of satisfying their leaguemandated time away from the team and are listed as questionable for Friday.
“I don’t think there’s an easy answer here,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Thursday after the team’s first time on the court together since a shootaround for a game Sunday against Miami that ultimately was postponed. “This is a difficult time around the country. This pandemic is as rampant as it’s ever been and obviously we’re feeling some of that despite the great precautions and great steps we’re taking.”
Meanwhile, the Indiana at Phoenix game scheduled for Saturday has been called off — the ninth such postponement since the week began. The Suns will not have enough players eligible to play, largely because of contact tracing issues, the NBA said.
One bit of good NBA news Thursday on the COVID front: New Orleans’ Zion Williamson, who couldn’t play in the Pelicans’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday because of an inconclusive test, has since been cleared and is eligible to play Friday vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.