Embiid has 40 in victory against Bulls
Joel Embiid dominated with 40 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame DeMar DeRozan’s season-high, 45-point game for Chicago to beat the Bulls, 119108, Sunday in Chicago.
The 76ers won the matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams after letting a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four.
They hung on down the stretch to beat the Bulls for the 10th consecutive time. They also knocked Chicago a halfgame behind first-place Miami and pulled within 1½ games of the idle Heat. With the 76ers’ victory, Miami clinched the best record in the East through Sunday, sending Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff to the All-Star Game in Cleveland to coach Team Durant.
Other games
Nuggets 124, Nets 104: Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his NBA-leading 14th triple-double of the season and host Denver handed short-handed Brooklyn its eighth loss in a row.
Mavericks 103, Hawks 94: Luka Doncic had a triple -double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, Jalen Brunson scored 22 points despite both of them being in foul trouble and Dallas beat visiting Atlanta.
Celtics 116, Magic 83:
Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and visiting Boston beat NBAworst Orlando for its seasonbest fifth consecutive win. Boston limited Orlando to 35.8% shooting from the floor and 5 of 25 from 3-point range.
Timberwolves 118, Pistons 105: Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds and host Minnesota beat Detroit for its fourth victory in a row. D’Angelo Russell returned with 22 points after missing four games because of a left shin contusion. Michael Beasley had 20 points.
Cavaliers 98, Pacers 85:
Cedi Osman scored 22 points, Kevin Love had 19 and host Cleveland rallied from 20 down to beat Indiana, shortly after agreeing to acquire shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers.
Pelicans 120, Rockets 107: Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and tied a career high with 12 assists in visiting New Orleans’s victory over Houston. New Orleans has won three in a row; Houston has lost six of seven.