Minus Embiid, Maxey leads Philly in OT past Grizzlies
GSW’s Curry scores 21 of 40 points in fourth quarter
PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, including a driving layup with 26.4 seconds left in overtime that put Philadelphia ahead for good, and the 76ers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-119 without Joel Embiid on Monday night.
Tobias Harris added 31 points and Andrew Drummond had 16 points and 23 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its fifth game in a row and 15th in the last 18. The 76ers improved to 4-8 without Embiid, who sat out for rest.
Ja Morant scored 37 points and Desmond Bane had a career-high 34 for Memphis.
Neither team led by more than four in a back-and-forth and exciting fourth quarter and overtime.
Maxey’s driving layup put Philadelphia in front 120-119. The 76ers packed the lane as Morant tried to reclaim the lead with a drive on the ensuing possession, and the Memphis star kicked it out to Ziaire Williams, whose corner 3-pointer rimmed out. Matisse Thybulle grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Maxey, who finished the scoring with a layup.
Morant reached 30 points for the seventh straight game. Before Embiid’s absence was announced earlier in the day, the game looked to be a matchup of two of the NBA’s top stars.
Embiid rested after a scintillating streak of 21 straight games played in which he raised his MVP profile. The 76ers big man averaged 33.1 points during the stretch to up his season scoring average to 29.1 points per game, which ranked second in the league behind Kevin Durant’s 29.3 points entering Monday.
Selected as a starter for his fifth straight All-Star Game last week, Embiid was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said the rest day was prearranged by the team’s medical staff.
WARRIORS 122, ROCKETS 108: In Houston, Stephen Curry scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to lead Golden State over Houston.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Warriors, while Houston extended its skid at home to 11 straight games.
Curry made seven 3-pointers, four in the fourth quarter, and had nine assists and five rebounds. His 21 fourth-quarter points were the most of his career.
Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for the Warriors and Klay Thompson had 14.
The Rockets, who lost their fourth straight game overall, were led by Christian Wood’s 24 points and 13 rebounds.
CELTICS 122, HEAT 92: In Boston, Jaylen Brown had 29 points, Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Celtics rolled past Miami.
Boston led by as many as 32 on its way to claiming its fourth victory in five outings. Marcus Smart added 16 points and seven assists.
It was Brown’s fourth consecutive game with 25 or more points, and Tatum has scored 20 or more in his last six games.
Miami has lost two straight and struggled mightily without several key players in the first game of its six-game road trip: Jimmy Butler (toe), P.J. Tucker (knee) and point guard Kyle Lowry, who missed his eighth consecutive game for personal reasons.
In their absence, Max Strus finished 27 points. Caleb Martin had 14 points and Bam Adebayo chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
RAPTORS 106, HAWKS 100: In Atlanta, Gary Trent Jr. scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 and Toronto snapped the Hawks’ seven-game winning streak.
Trent, who has scored at least 30 points in four straight games, hit three 3s in the closing minutes of the third quarter, including a buzzer-beater, and then connected again early in the fourth to put the Raptors up 85-77.
Fred VanVleet, who scored 16, got hot in the fourth, hitting consecutive 3s to push the lead to nine.
The Hawks were playing without AllStar guard Trae Young, who was scratched with a right shoulder contusion. He ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring and third in assists. Kevin Huerter scored 26 points to lead Atlanta.
CAVALIERS 93, PELICANS 90: In Cleveland, reserve guard Brandon Goodwin matched his career-high with 21 points, Jarrett Allen added 16 and Cleveland shook off an ugly road loss by rallying to beat New Orleans.
The Cavs, who played poorly in a 10-point loss at Detroit the day before, were without starting point guard Darius Garland due to a sore lower back. Kevin Love added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Cedi Osman had a career-high 12 assists for Cleveland, which trailed by nine in the fourth quarter
Devonte’ Graham scored 20 points, Jaxson Hayes 19 and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 for the Pelicans, who lost their fourth straight.
New Orleans was also down a major piece as forward Brandon Ingram, who leads the Pelicans in points and assists, missed his fifth game in a row with an ankle injury.
PACERS 122, CLIPPERS 116: In Indianapolis, rookie forward Isaiah Jackson scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, leading Indiana past Los Angeles.
Both totals were season highs for Jackson, a first-round draft pick out of Kentucky.
Duane Washington Jr. added 16 points and made all four of his 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Indiana won for just the second time in six nights as Rick Carlisle became the second coach in the franchise’s NBA history to win 200 career games. Frank Vogel won 250 games during a five-season tenure with the team.
The Clippers were led by Amir Coffey with 27 points and Reggie Jackson with 21. Los Angeles went 4-4 on its road trip but had a five-game winning streak against Indiana snapped. Neither team was close to full strength. Injured All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard continued to sit out for the Clippers, and the Pacers played without two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who has entered the COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
THUNDER 98, TRAIL BLAZERS 81: In Oklahoma City, Lu Dort scored 18 points and Oklahoma City defeated Portland to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Josh Giddey added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the short-handed Thunder. Oklahoma City’s scoring leader, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is out until after the All-Star break with a sprained right ankle sustained last Friday against Indiana.
CJ McCollum scored 21 points and Norman Powell added 18 for the Trail Blazers, who have lost four of five.
KNICKS 116, KINGS 96: In New York, Alec Burks had 21 points off the bench, Evan Fournier also scored 21 and New York routed skidding Sacramento to stop a three-game slide.
Julius Randle added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who won for the second time in eight games.
Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and eight assists for the Kings, who have lost seven straight overall and 12 in a row on the road.
Sacramento’s last road victory was Dec. 1 at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Injuries
JAZZ: Forward Joe Ingles tore a ligament in his right knee that will require surgery.
Ingles is out indefinitely after an MRI on Monday revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He will have surgery in the coming weeks.
Ingles was injured in the second quarter of the Jazz’s game Sunday night at Minnesota. The seven-year veteran had to be helped off the court. The Jazz were already shorthanded with the absences of Donovan Mitchell (concussion) and Rudy Gobert (left calf strain). Ingles is Utah’s all-time 3-point leader. WIZARDS: Bradley Beal is expected to miss the next two games for Washington after spraining his left wrist.
The Wizards updated Beal’s status Monday. He was injured in the third quarter at Memphis on Saturday.
Washington plays at Milwaukee on Tuesday and at Philadelphia on Wednesday. The team said Beal’s status beyond those two games will be updated after further evaluation.