76ers rally to beat Hornets
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 23 points and 14 rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers pull away from the Charlotte Hornets down the stretch in a 110-99 victory on Friday night.
The Sixers won their 13th straight game at the Wells Fargo Center and looked strong in the fourth quarter on the second night of a back-to-back. JJ Redick and newly signed Ersan Ilyasova scored clutch buckets in the final minutes to continue the Sixers’ late charge up the East standings.
The Sixers were coming off an impressive 108-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night that ended an 11-game losing streak against the Eastern Conference champions. Coach Brett Brown said playing the second of a back-to-back at home against a Hornets team badly in need of victories would be a nice test for the Sixers as they inch closer to their first playoff berth since 2012.
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to achieving a pretty significant goal. We don’t feel like we’re there at all, and I don’t see complacency creeping in there,” he said. “We’re playing a team in desperation mode.”
Led by Kemba Walker and Frank Kaminsky, the determined Hornets charged to a 14-point lead and seemed poised to snatch a needed road win.
The 76ers stole the win right back.
Aaron Gordon had 27 points and 13 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic stop a seven-game losing streak with a victory against the Detroit Pistons. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D.J. Augustin had 20 points and nine assists for the Magic. Evan Fournier scored 17, including seven in the extra period. James Ennis and Reggie Bullock led Detroit with 21 points apiece. Blake Griffin,
Stephen Curry scored 28 points, including 15 in the fi nal seven minutes of the fi rst half after returning from an ankle injury, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks for their fi fth straight victory. Curry turned his right ankle and left the game in the fi rst quarter. He returned for his high- scoring second period before returning to the locker room for good in the third. The Warriors said a “tweaked right ankle” was the reason Curry would not return.
Cavs suspended Smith for soup toss
Cleveland’s J.R. Smith declined an interview request Friday, a day after the Cavaliers suspended him one game for throwing a bowl of soup at assistant coach Damon Jones.
The soup toss came following Thursday’s shootaround at the team’s training facility, hours before the Cavs played the Philadelphia 76ers, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.
Smith was with his teammates Friday — the Cavs didn’t practice, but watched film — and after getting in some extra shots, he told a team spokesman he will address the media at Saturday’s shootaround before the Cavs play Denver.
Love hopes to return sooner than expected
As the Cavaliers experience growing pains with four new players, relief might be ahead: Kevin Love.
The All-Star forward, sidelined since Jan. 29 with a broken left hand, said Friday he could return sooner than expected. The initial timetable was for him to be out two months.
“If I can get back before eight weeks, great,” he said. “So I’m hoping that that is the case.”
Love’s recovery has picked up speed in recent days. He’s now able to catch the ball with a padded glove to protect his left hand, and the progress is such that there’s less risk for re-injury.
“One of the things I can do now is kind of catch the ball, guide it and shoot it within 12-15 feet so that feels good to do something other than run on the treadmill or run on the bike so it’s nice,” he said.