Embiid, 76ers hold off Celtics
BOSTON — Joel Embiid responded to criticism from Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley with a season-high 38 points, adding 13 rebounds on Thursday night to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-109 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Embiid scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, hitting five of six free throws in the final 26 seconds to hold off Boston’s last charge. With Philadelphia leading by four in the final 15 seconds, he blocked Daniel Theis’ shot to help clinch it.
Tobias Harris had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Sixers, who won their fourth straight game and their eighth in nine tries.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points for Boston, which lost at home for the first time all season. Enes Kanter came off the bench with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Gordon Hayward scored 19.
Earlier in the week, Barkley said Embiid is the toughest matchup in the league, but he doesn’t take advantage of it. O’Neal said on the TNT broadcast that Embiid shouldn’t settle for 22 points a game, his current average, but should aim for more like 28 or 30.
Embiid’s response: “They’re right.”
Then he went out and showed it.
MAVS 122, PISTONS 111
Luka Doncic scored 41 points and posted his eighth triple-double of the season, Seth Curry added a season-high 30 points off the bench, and Dallas topped Detroit in the opener of this year’s NBA Mexico Games at Mexico City.
Doncic finished with 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Mavericks, who at 17-7 are off to their best 24game start since posting the same mark at this point of the 2014-15 season.
CAVALIERS 117, SPURS 109
Kevin Love hit a tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation and finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds as Cleveland rallied past host San Antonio in overtime to stop an eight-game losing streak.
It was San Antonio’s third straight overtime game. The Spurs won the previous two but failed to maintain a five-point lead with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter this time.
NUGGETS 114, BLAZERS 99
Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Jerami Grant added 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench, and Denver defeated visiting Portland to snap a threegame losing streak.