New-look Philly defeats Denver
The new-look Philadelphia 76ers made a strong first impression with little time practicing together.
JJ Redick scored 34 points, Jimmy Butler added 22 and the Sixers beat the visiting Nuggets 117-110 on Friday with four players making their debut.
Tobias Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds in his first game for Philadelphia and Joel Embiid scored 15 and grabbed 12 boards despite playing with the stomach flu.
The Sixers made a flurry of moves before Thursday’s trade deadline, acquiring Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott from the Clippers, James Ennis from Houston and Jonathon Simmons from Orlando.
“You couldn’t ask for any better,” Harris said. “To play like that, get that reaction from fans, it meant a lot to me. It was awesome. Feels good to be appreciated.”
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 27 points and Jamal Murray had 23. The Nuggets, who have the second-best record (37-18) in the Western Conference behind Golden State, were missing two of their top five scorers: Gary Harris and Paul Millsap.
Pelicans 122, Timberwolves 117: Anthony Davis, booed during his pregame introductions in his first game since saying he wanted to be traded, had 32 points, nine rebounds and three blocks to lead host New Orleans. Jrue Holiday had 27 points and nine assists and Kenrich Williams had 19 points — and they led the Pelicans offense in the fourth quarter, when Davis was kept on the bench despite the fact that the teams were separated by as little as one basket several times in the waning minutes. Instead of playing Davis, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry sent in Julius Randle, who came through with two inside baskets and clutch free throws in the final minutes.
Kings scored with 17 102, seconds 23 points, Heat left, 96: two and Buddy on host free Hield throws Sacramento rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to beat Miami. Josh Richardson scored 21 points and Dwyane Wade had 15 for Miami, all coming after the 12-time All-Star was involved in a scary fall with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.
Pistons 120, Knicks 103: Andre Drummond had 29 points and 20 rebounds and host Detroit handed New York its 15th straight loss. Blake Griffin scored 26 points for the Pistons, who traded Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson in deadline deals but kept enough of their top players to make a postseason berth plausible.
Bucks Antetokounmpo 122, Mavericks had 29 107: points Giannis and 17 rebounds and visiting Milwaukee rolled to its sixth straight victory. Antetokounmpo was 13-for-19 from the field. Fellow Euro star Luka Doncic scored 20 points for Dallas.
Wizards 119, Cavaliers 106: Bobby Portis scored 30 points in his Washington debut, Bradley Beal added 25 points and 12 assists, and the Wizards beat visiting Cleveland. Portis was acquired along with Jabari Parker on Thursday in a trade that sent Otto Porter Jr. to Chicago.
Bulls 125, Nets 106: Lauri Markkanen had 31 points and 18 rebounds to lead Chicago past host Brooklyn. Markkanen scored at least 30 points in his third straight game. Zach LaVine added 23 points.
Briefly: The Mavericks waived Zach Randolph two days after acquiring the forward ... The Pacers waived guards Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin.