Embiid, 76ers down Kings; Hornets hold off Wizards
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 21 points and 17 rebounds and made some big plays on both ends of the court late in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Sacramento Kings 123-114 on Friday night.
Tobias Harris and JJ Redick each added 19 points and Ben Simmons contributed 18 for the 76ers, who won their third in a row to pull even with idle Indiana for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker with the Pacers and is trying to maintain hold of home court in a first-round playoff series, something coach Brett Brown said he coveted before the contest.
Fifth-seeded Boston is two games behind the 76ers and Pacers.
Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox had 16 points apiece for Sacramento, which lost its third in a row and seventh in the last nine to further hurt its playoff push. The Kings, who last made the postseason in 2006, entered ninth in the West, five games behind the Clippers.
With Philadelphia clinging to a four-point lead with three minutes remaining, Embiid blocked Willie Cauley-Stein’s layup attempt. Two possessions later, Embiid rejected Barnes’ closerange try before hitting a short jumper to make it 121114 with 1:45 remaining.
Philadelphia increased its 62-58 halftime advantage to as many as 13 in the third quarter on Redick’s 3poiner that made it 93-80 with 2:13 left in the period.
The 76ers had a 10-point advantage to start the fourth, but Yogi Ferrell’s 3 capped a 9-2 Kings run to start the period that pulled Sacramento within 101-98 with 9:25 to play. But Sacramento never would get closer than three the rest of the way.
HORNETS 116, WIZARDS 110
Kemba Walker scored 28 points and Charlotte won at Washington in a matchup of teams chasing the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Nicolas Batum and Tony Parker had 16 points apiece for Charlotte, which defeated Washington for the second time in eight days.
Washington’s Bradley Beal had 23 points by halftime and finished with 40.
ROCKETS 108, SUNS 102
James Harden had 41 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as Houston won at home.
It’s Houston’s franchiserecord 10th straight win over the Suns, and the Rockets have won 10 of their last 11 games overall.
Devin Booker had 29 points for the Suns.
BUCKS 113, HEAT 98
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, and Khris Middleton contributed 21 points and eight assists as Milwaukee won at Miami.
Justise Winslow led the Heat with 20 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 122 PELICANS 110
Damian Lillard scored 24 points, and CJ McCollum added 23 in Portland’s win at New Orleans.
Elfrid Payton recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists, and Julius Randle had 45 points for the Pelicans.
PISTONS 111, LAKERS 97
Andre Drummond had 19 points and 23 rebounds, and Detroit took advantage of LeBron James’ absence, beating Los Angeles at Detroit.
Langston Galloway scored 23 points and Reggie Jackson had 20 for the Pistons.
The Lakers, who rested James, were also without Lonzo Ball (left ankle), Tyson Chandler (neck), Brandon Ingram (right arm) and Lance Stephenson (toe), but they trailed by only four in the third quarter before Detroit embarked on a 13-0 run.
CLIPPERS 128, BULLS 121
Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points, Montrezl Harrell had 26, and Lou Williams finished with 21 Los Angeles won at home..