Embiid returns to lead Sixers’ rout
Joel Embiid swished a 3 from the top of the arc and stretched his arms toward a wildly cheering crowd.
The roar of the fans in another 76ers’ victory has been muted, and the NBA is on hold after it suspended its season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus.
“It’s important that the fans, players, coaching staff, our staff here at the Sixers remain healthy and we do everything we can,” 76ers general manager Elton Brand said. “But we believe in the leadership of the league.”
Embiid had 30 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a sprained left shoulder, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 124-106 home victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The players had just hit the locker room when news of the suspended season broke and they were not made available to the media.
Coach Brett Brown defended the decision to play the game.
“The instruction was to come in and play the game,” Brown said. “If you look at the proactive measures our club has taken, and that the league has taken, I think they should be applauded. It’s a sensative issue, obviously. It must be a very serious situation for the league to make the decision that they have made. We look forward to learning more over the next few hours, really.”
All-Star guard Ben Simmons will miss at least three more weeks with nerve issues in his lower back. Simmons missed his eighth straight game and will continue to undergo daily treatment for his nerve impingement. He is gradually increasing the activities in his strength and conditioning program and there’s a shot the 23-year-old Simmons is back for the playoffs, should they resume.
“There’s no timeline on it,” Simmons said before the game. “Whenever I’m back, I’m back. Whenever I’m 100 percent, I’m coming back. I’m not here to sit and just wait. When I’m healthy, I’ll be playing.”
KINGS-PELICANS CANCELED TO END DAY >> The last scheduled NBA game before the league planned to suspend the season because a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the new coronavirus was postponed at the last minute because one of the officials worked a game with the infected player.
Officials announced that the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings had been postponed just minutes before the scheduled tipoff. The league said the decision was made out of an “abundance of caution” because official Courtney Kirkland had worked the Jazz game Monday night.
HORNETS TOP HEAT >> Devonte’ Graham scored 30 points, Caleb Martin scored 19, and the Charlotte
Hornets shook off an early 20-point deficit to beat the Heat 109-98 — keeping Miami’s magic number for clinching a postseason berth at one.
P.J. Washington scored 17 and Miles Bridges scored 16 for the Hornets, who have won five of their past seven road games.
Kendrick Nunn scored 24 for the Heat, who played without Jimmy Butler because of a toe injury. RANDLE SCORES 33, KNICKS OUTLAST HAWKS >> Julius Randle scored 33 points, RJ Barrett added 26, and the New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 136-131 on the road in overtime after Trae Young led a furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
With Young scoring 27 of his 42 points in the final period of regulation, the Hawks sent the game to overtime tied at 118 after trailing by as many as 23.
But the Hawks used up all their energy overcoming the big deficit on the heels of a double-overtime win over Charlotte two days earlier.
MAVERICKS AVOID 3-GAME SKID >> Boban Marjanovic had 31 points and 17 rebounds, Luka Doncic scored 28 points, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets 113-97.
The Mavericks were in the second half of their game when the NBA announced plans to suspend the season “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus.
Jamal Murray had 25 points to lead Denver, and Will Barton had 23.
Dallas avoided its first three-game losing streak, and is the league’s only team that hasn’t lost three in a row this season.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Millsap had 12.
BULLS’ HUTCHISON TO HAVE
SURGERY ON RIGHT SHOULDER >> Chicago Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison will have surgery on
his right shoulder that will likely end his season, the team announced.
Hutchison is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on the AC joint on Tuesday, with the recovery expected to take three to four months. He was initially hurt Nov. 27 against Golden State, missed 17 games before returning in January and re-injured the shoulder Feb. 11.
BUCKS’ ANTETOKOUNMPO
FEARED HIS INJURY WAS MORE SERIOUS >> Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledges he initially feared the knee sprain that has caused him to miss his last two games might be a much more serious injury.
“I was nervous right when I fell on the floor,” Antetokounmpo said Wednesday. “I was able to walk it off and play a few minutes and I felt better, but the next day I was extremely sore, so I was nervous.’’
Coach Mike Budenholzer said the team would remain careful.