Simmons lifts 76ers over Cavs
Ben Simmons topped LeBron James in a triple-double battle to lead the 76ers to their 13th straight win in their biggest game in six years, 132-130, over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night in Philadelphia.
With a buzz in the city over the Sixers that hasn’t been felt since the pre-Process days, they romped toward a 30-point lead over the Cavs in the first half and scored 78 points at the break.
Simmons had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. James had 44 points (17-of-29 shooting), 11 assists and 11 rebounds, bringing the Cavaliers to the brink of an epic comeback.
The Sixers (49-30) moved into third place in the Eastern Conference over the Cavaliers (49-31).
Raptors 92, Pacers 73 — Serge Ibaka scored a seasonhigh 25 points, DeMar DeRozan had 12 and Toronto beat visiting Indiana, clinching first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history.
Jakbo Poeltl scored 10 points as the Raptors set franchise records for wins in a season (57) and home wins (33).
Kyle Lowry had nine points and nine assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 rebounds for Toronto, which never trailed in its ninth consecutive home victory over the Pacers. Indiana last won north of the border on March 1, 2013.
Indiana came in after completing a season sweep of reigning NBA champion Golden State with a 126-106 home victory on Thursday night. However, the Pacers fell behind in a poor-shooting first quarter and never seriously challenged in this one.
Glenn Robinson III scored 12 points and Trevor Booker had 11 for the Pacers. Indiana shot 26 for 87 (29.9 percent) and set season-lows in points, made field goals, and field goal percentage.
Hornets 137, Magic 100 — Reserve Malik Monk scored 26 points, Frank Kaminsky added 21 and Charlotte went on to a rout in Orlando, Fla.
Knicks 122, Heat 98 — Rookie Damyean Dotson had career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds, reserve Luke Kornet added a career-best 17 points and host New York blew out Miami.
Hawks 103 Wizards 97 — Taurean Prince scored 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and Atlanta rallied to beat host Washington. Washington dropped its fourth straight game and fell into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Kings 94, Grizzlies 93 — Bogdan Bogdanovic connected on a 16-footer with a second left to help Sacramento escape with a victory over host Memphis.
Pistons 113, Mavericks 106 — Reggie Jackson scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as host Detroit beat Dallas.
Elsewhere in the NBA — LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul were among the NBA stars on the list of 35 players chosen for USA Basketball’s national team pool of players for 2018-20. Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Anthony Davis plus current Celtics Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, both out with seasonending injuries, were on the list of players the Americans can choose from if they qualify for the 2019 Basketball World Cup and 2020 Olympics.