76ers welcome back ‘MVP’ Embiid in win

Joel Embiid had 24 points and eight rebounds in his return to Philadelphia’s lineup, and Tobias Harris scored 32 to lead the 76ers to a 122113 victory over the visiting Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Ben Simmons added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia, which pulled even with idle Brooklyn for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Embiid missed the previous 10 games due to a bone bruise in his left knee. The fourtime AllStar and MVP candidate entered averaging 29.9 points and 11.5 rebounds in 31 games this season.

Philadelphia fans were happy to see their favorite big man back in action, serenading a smiling Embiid with “MVP! MVP!” chants when he was shown on the big screen during warmups.

With his left knee heavily wrapped, Embiid moved well but his game wasn’t quite as sharp as it had been prior to the injury, which he sustained on March 12 at Washington. Embiid shot 6 of 14 from the field, but missed all four 3point tries, and converted 12 of 17 free throws.

Jazz 137, Magic 91: Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 22 points. The Magic got 19 points and 12 rebounds from Wendell Carter Jr. in Salt Lake City. Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each added 17 points for Utah.

Bucks 129, Kings 128: Jrue Holiday scored a seasonhigh 33 points to go with 11 assists and seven rebounds, and visiting Milwaukee overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee soreness). Brook Lopez had 26 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points, seven assists and a seasonbest 14 rebounds for Milwaukee. De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points for Sacramento, and Terence Davis had a seasonhigh 27 off the bench. Buddy Hield scored 19 and Tyrese Haliburton added 12 points and 11 assists.

Trail Blazers 133, Thunder 85: CJ McCollum scored 20 points to lead eight Trail Blazers in double figures at home. Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons each added 16 points for the Blazers, who sent their starters to the bench before Portland took a 10459 lead into the final quarter. Portland led by as many as 52 points and the final margin was the largest ever for the team at the Moda Center.

Heat 115, Cavaliers 101: Duncan Robinson scored 18 points on 6for9 shooting on 3pointers and the Heat continued their home dominance over the Cavaliers. Bam Adebayo finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Trevor Ariza scored 15 points and Jimmy Butler added 15 points and 11 assists as the Heat won their 20th straight against the Cavaliers in Miami.

Mavericks 109, Wizards 87: Luka Doncic scored 26 points and added eight rebounds and six assists for visiting Dallas, which won its fourth straight. Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and Boban Marjanovic had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points and Dorian FinneySmith added 11.

Pacers 139, Spurs 133: Caris LeVert scored 26 points and the shorthanded Pacers snapped a threegame losing streak with an overtime victory in San Antonio. Aaron Holiday, Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell each had 18 points for Indiana. McConnell and Turner combined for 11 points in overtime for the Pacers, who were without Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb.

Knicks 125, Pistons 81: Julius Randle scored 20 of his 29 points in the first quarter, and the visiting Knicks pounded Detroit. Randle and Reggie Bullock, who had 22 points, had four 3pointers apiece in the first as New York put it away early. The Knicks stopped a threegame slide, returning to .500 at 2525.