San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
EMBIID, 76ERS KEEP ROLLING
Joel Embiid had 29 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 144-114 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Philadelphia tied its franchise record of 21 3-pointers, last set on March 1, 2020.
Tobias Harris added 23 points and had a season-high five three-pointers as the Sixers placed seven players in double figures and was able to play their bench for the majority of the fourth quarter.
“We were able to move the ball well,” Embiid said. “I was extremely happy with the way that we played today because (of ) the pace and how we moved the ball around and found our shooters.”
James Harden had 12 points and 13 assists for Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey had 19 points and four assists for the Sixers (47-30), who can clinch a playoff berth with a win today against Cleveland.
Miles Bridges had 20 points for Charlotte, which has already wrapped up a berth in the East’s play-in tournament. PJ Washington had 14 points while Lamelo Ball added 13 for the Hornets.
Warriors 111, Jazz 107: Klay Thompson scored 36 points and host Golden State erased a 16point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Utah.
Jordan Poole added 31 and Andrew Wiggins had 17 as the Warriors clinched a playoff spot and snapped a four-game losing streak. At 49-29, they hold a onegame lead over the Dallas Mavericks for the third seed in the Western Conference. Utah is tied with Denver for the fifth spot.
Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each had 26 for Utah. It was an all-too-familiar storyline for the Jazz, who blew a 25-point lead in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Utah has lost 15 games this season in which it held double-digit leads.
Heat 127, Bulls 109: Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro added 19 apiece and the Eastern Conference-leading Miami beat host Chicago.
Bam Adebayo scored 16, and the hot-shooting Heat (50-28) reached the 50-win mark for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
Miami also increased its lead over second-place Milwaukee to 11⁄2 games and moved within a win of securing home-court advantage in Round 1 of the postseason. If the Heat go 3-1 the rest of the way, they’ll clinch the top seed in the East.
Butler, the former Bull, had seven rebounds and six assists. Herro matched a season high by nailing 6 of 7 3s, including three in the third. Dewayne Dedmon added 14 points, and the Heat won their third straight .
Zach Lavine led Chicago with 33 points.
Hawks 122, Nets 115: Trae Young scored 36 points, including nine in the final minute, and streaking Atlanta overcame Kevin Durant’s career-high 55 points to hold off host Brooklyn for the Hawks’ fifth consecutive win.
Atlanta (41-37) moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of Brooklyn (40-38) and Charlotte.
Young’s 3-pointer gave Atlanta a 116-108 lead. Durant reached his career scoring high with his layup with 19 seconds remaining. He set another career high by making eight 3-pointers.
The Hawks, attempting to regain the late-season momentum which pushed them to the last year’s Eastern Conference finals, have won 10 of 13.
The Nets’ second consecutive loss left them locked into the play-in tournament, eliminating their slim hopes of moving up to sixth in the conference.
Kyrie Irving had 31 points to complement Durant, but the Nets had no other scorer in double figures.
Backup point guard Goran Dragic did not play after he was placed in health and safety protocols with COVID-19 symptoms.
Cavaliers 119, Knicks 101: Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead visiting Cleveland past New York. Garland led seven Cavaliers in double figures as Cleveland snapped a twogame losing streak.
Caris Levert finished with 19 points. Moses Brown and Isaac Okoro each added 16.
After a four-game winning streak, New York has lost two straight. Obi Toppin scored a career-high 20 points.
76ers 144, Hornets 114