PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Joel Embiid had 39 points and 13 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Brooklyn 123-117 on Wednesday night in an anticipated matchup that fizzled with the Nets missing their biggest stars.
The Sixers (38-17) moved into first place in the Eastern Conference in a game played without James Harden, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge. With the Nets standouts hurt or just rested, the game had more of a preseason feel than a possible preview of the conference final this summer.
The Sixers improved to 21-5 at home.
Kyrie Irving scored 23 points in the first half — his eighth 20-point first half of the season — and finished with 37 points for Brooklyn.
BUCKS 130, TIMBERWOLVES 105
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Khris Middleton had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in three quarters as Milwaukee breezed past Minnesota.
Brook Lopez added 18 points and eight rebounds, Jrue Holiday pitched in 15 points and three steals, and the Bucks built a lead as big as 30 points early in the fourth quarter on the way to their second consecutive blowout.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points on 5-for-11 shooting from 3-point range for the Timberwolves, who have lost 11 of their past 15 games. The Bucks played without Giannis Antetokoumpo because of left knee soreness for the sixth straight game.
WARRIORS 147, THUNDER 109
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 42 points in the third quarter, and Golden State ran away from Oklahoma City.
Curry went 8 for 8 from the field and made all six of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter to post his high point total for a quarter this season. He made 11 of 16 3-pointers and 14 of 20 shots overall.
Draymond Green had a triple-double with 12 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who matched a franchise record with 24 3-pointers.
Darius Bazley had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Moses Brown added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have lost eight straight, all by double digits.
CAVALIERS 103, HORNETS 90
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Taurean Prince scored a season-high 25 points with six 3-pointers, Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds in his first action since March 26 and Cleveland handed short-handed Charlotte its third straight loss at home.
Kevin Love added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a two-game skid.
Terry Rozier had 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Hornets. Miles Bridges added 20 points.
It was Allen’s first action since suffering a concussion against the Los Angeles Lakers, forcing him to miss eight games.
RAPTORS 117, SPURS 112
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - OG Anunoby scored 22 points, Pascal Siakam had 20 points and 11 rebounds and short-handed Toronto beat San Antonio.
Raptors rookie Malachi Flynn had a big fourth quarter, scoring eight of his 16 points in the period and finishing with seven assists. Khem Birch had 14 points and six rebounds in his first start for Toronto.
Derrick White led San Antonio with 25 points, and Patty Mills added 23.
KNICKS 116, PELICANS 106
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Julius Randle scored 32 points against his former team and New York clamped down defensively on Zion Williamson for a victory over New Orleans.
Alec Burks scored New York’s first 11 points of the fourth quarter, added a crushing 3 and finished with 21 points for the Knicks, who’ve won four straight for the first time this season.
Williamson mustered 25 points against a Knicks defense that packed the paint to stop him. Brandon Ingram scored 28 for New Orleans, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.
MAGIC 115, BULLS 106
CHICAGO (AP) - James Ennis scored 22 points, Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Orlando snapped a six-game losing streak by beating Chicago.
Zach LaVine scored 30. Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 11 rebounds in his first game against the Magic since they dealt the two-time All-Star to Chicago at the deadline. But the Bulls fell to 3-8 since the trade.
Carter, acquired in the Vucevic trade, came up big in his first game against the team that drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2018. Gary Harris and Michael Carter-Williams scored 15 apiece.
Daniel Theis finished with 16 points, but the Bulls dropped their fourth in a row.
MAVERICKS 114, GRIZZLIES 113
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Luka Doncic hit a leaning, lunging 3-pointer as time expired to give Dallas a victory over Memphis.
Doncic ended the night with 29 points, while Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points. Dwight Powell had 12 points.
Grayson Allen led the Grizzlies with 23 points, but the 90.6% free throw shooter missed a pair of foul shots with 2.2 second lefts, setting the stage for Doncic’s winning 3 in the matchup of teams jockeying for postseason positioning.
CLIPPERS 100, PISTONS 98
DETROIT (AP) - Reggie Jackson sank a jumper with 2.3 seconds left against his former team, giving the Clippers their seventh straight victory.
The Clippers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter despite playing without several key players. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Serge Ibaka, Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris were all out for Los Angeles.
Jerami Grant scored 28 points and Saddiq Bey added 17 for Detroit.
Jackson finished with 29. Luke Kennard - another former Piston - had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
PACERS 132, ROCKETS 124
HOUSTON (AP) - Caris LeVert scored 27 points, Domantas Sabonis added 22 and Malcolm Brogdon fell just short of a triple-double as Indiana beat Houston.
Brogdon fell one assist shy of his second career triple-double and his first since his rookie season in 2016-2017. He had 23 points, nine assists and 13 rebounds, two shy of his career high.
Indiana has won five of its last seven games. Houston has lost four straight and nine of 10.
The Rockets were led by John Wall’s 31 points and nine assists. Christian Wood had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Kelly Olynyk added 25 points.
WIZARDS 123, KINGS 111
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Russell Westbrook recorded his 170th career triple-double, Bradley Beal scored 31 points, and Washington ended its longest road trip of the season by beating Sacramento.
Westbrook had 25 points, 11 assists and 15 rebounds for his sixth consecutive triple-double and the 24th of the season. Oscar Robertson holds the NBA record for career triple-doubles with 181.
Davis Bertans added 16 points as Washington finished 4-2 on its road trip.
De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points for the Kings, who have lost eight straight.
NUGGETS 123, HEAT 106
DENVER (AP) - Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 15th triple-double of the season to lead Denver over Miami.
Michael Porter Jr. added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets. Six Denver players scored in double figures in the team’s first game without Jamal Murray, who is out for the rest of the season.
Jimmy Butler had 13 points and nine assists for the Heat, a night after he rolled his right ankle in a loss at Phoenix. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 21 points and Kendrick Nunn added 16 points.
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