Embiid scores 24 in return from knee surgery
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid put Philadelphia ahead with four free throws in the final 40 seconds and finished with 24 points in his first game in nine weeks following knee surgery, leading the 76ers to a 109-105 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Embiid added seven assists and six rebounds in nearly 30 minutes — but most important, he brought the confidence that the Sixers can salvage their season and make a postseason run with last season’s MVP in the lineup.
Embiid was congratulated by Hall of Famer Allen Iverson after the game.
Chet Holmgren scored 22 points to lead the Thunder, who are in a tight race with Minnesota and Denver for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The Sixers trailed by 11 points with 7:27 left before they went on a torrid run. Kelly Oubre Jr. hit a 3 that got the comeback rolling, and Embiid capped it off with a series of free throws. Embiid hit two for a 106-105 lead and added two more that made it 108-105. He made all 12 foul shots on the night.
Embiid sat exhausted on the scorer’s table as the final seconds ticked off before he sauntered over to Iverson.
NUGGETS 110, SPURS 105: In Denver, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic scored 42 points and outdueled Rookie of the Year favorite Victor Wembanyama in Denver’s win over San Antonio to retake sole possession of first place in the West.
Jokic also grabbed 16 rebounds and had six assists. Wembanyama had 23 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and nine blocks.
Three of Jokic’s baskets came on rare dunks, something he said he had to do facing the sensational rookie.
“He had like 600 blocks tonight, but we got the win,” Jokic said after Denver leap-frogged Oklahoma City atop the Western Conference playoff race.
The Nuggets (53-23) took a halfgame lead over Oklahoma City, which lost 109-105 at Philadelphia earlier Tuesday night.
The Minnesota Timberwolves (52-23) kept pace with Oklahoma City when they beat Houston 113-106.
WIZARDS 117, BUCKS 113: In Washington, Corey Kispert scored 27 points and Deni Avdija added 23 to help Washington beat Milwaukee despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double.
Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and reached double figures in all three categories by the end of the third quarter. That wasn’t enough for Milwaukee, which came into the night with a 2 1/2-game lead over Cleveland for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan Poole had 16 points and a career-high 13 assists for Washington, and Jared Butler provided a lift off the bench with 17 points. Tristan Vukcevic, a 7-foot rookie from Serbia whom the Wizards signed in the middle of last month, scored 14. His previous career high was six.
LAKERS 128, RAPTORS 111: In Toronto, LeBron James scored 23 points, Anthony Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Toronto for their seventh win in eight games.
D’Angelo Russell shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range and scored 25 points, Rui Hachimura had 14 and Max Christie 12 as the Lakers handed slumping Toronto a 14th straight loss.
The NBA’s career scoring leader, James shot 10 for 12 and had nine assists.
HEAT 109, KNICKS 99: In Miami, Terry Rozier picked a good time for his highest-scoring game with the Miami Heat.
Rozier scored 34 points, sealed by a beat-the-shot-clock 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining, and the Heat inched closer to an Eastern Conference playoff berth by holding off New York.
Rozier was 10 for 15 from the field, 8 for 11 on 3s. And the Heat — who led by 16, then fell into a tie when New York went on a 12-0 run late — needed every bit of that effort.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, ROCKETS 106: In Minneapolis, Naz Reid strengthened his case for the Sixth Man of the Year Award with 25 points and six rebounds, Anthony Edwards scored 19 points and Minnesota kept up their push for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves, who have clinched a playoff berth, are tied for second with Oklahoma City at 52-23, a half-game behind Denver, with seven games remaining in the regular season.