Joel Embiid had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first action in a month to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-116 victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Mavericks, which fell to 0-2 since trading star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Embiid recorded his first triple-double of an injury-plagued season in which he’s appeared in just 14 games. A left knee injury sidelined the seven-time All-Star for the previous 15 games, and he wore a large brace on the knee.
But he looked like his usual self, especially down the stretch. Embiid’s layup with 22 seconds left put Philadelphia ahead by a point. He grabbed a rebound on the Mavericks’ next possession and then defended the final play of the game when Dallas turned it over.
Tyrese Maxey had 33 points and 13 assists for the Sixers. Kyrie Irving scored 34 points for the Mavs and Naji Marshall added 19.
Celtics 112, Cavaliers 105
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and Boston showed its championship makeup down the stretch with a win over Cleveland in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
The defending NBA titlist executed in the final minutes and held off the Cavs, who lost for just the fourth time in 28 home games.
Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 with nine rebounds as Boston won its fourth straight game and improved to 2-1 against Cleveland this season.
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Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Darius Garland 25 for the Cavs, who cut a 15-point deficit to four in the fourth quarter.
But the Celtics, who have won four straight, didn’t buckle and responded in every crucial moment to put away the Cavs.
Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Cleveland.
Nets 99, Rockets 97
Keon Johnson and D’Angelo Russell made 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds, and Brooklyn stunned Houston for its first home victory in two months.
Brooklyn trailed 97-93 when Tosan Evbuomwan inbounded the ball to Johnson, who made a 3 from the wing with 8.1 seconds left. Houston’s Amen Thompson then threw an inbounds pass that skipped past Dillon Brooks, and Evbuomwan tipped it to Russell, who buried a 3 to put the Nets ahead with 3.4 seconds remaining.
Jalen Green missed a deep 3 at the buzzer for the Rockets as Brooklyn (17-33) ended its 11-game skid at Barclays Center.
Johnson scored 22 points, and Evbuomwan and Nic Claxton each scored 14. Russell had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Knicks 121, Raptors 115
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 20 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 28 points and New York held on to beat Toronto for its eighth win in 10 games.
Mikal Bridges and Precious Achiuwa each scored 17 points as the Knicks won their eighth straight meeting with the Raptors. Josh Hart added 15 points as all five Knicks starters reached double digits.
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Towns had nearly half of New York’s 43 total rebounds. The veteran big man has had two 22-rebound games this season. He had a career-high 27 rebounds against New Orleans on January 12, 2019.
Scottie Barnes scored 23 points and Jamal Shead had a career-high 16 for the short-handed Raptors. Toronto played without leading scorer RJ Barrett (concussion protocol) and lost center Jakob Poeltl (right hip) at half-time.
Bulls 133, Heat 124
Rookie Matas Buzelis scored a career-best 24 points and Josh Giddey matched it to help Chicago top Miami.
Coby White scored 22 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 21 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who played their first game since trading two-time All-Star Zach LaVine to Sacramento late Sunday.
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo each scored 23 for Miami, which had won three of four.
The Bulls trailed 118-114 with five minutes to play but an 11-2 run helped secure the win.
Nikola Jovic added 20 points and Kel’el Ware finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, which opened the game on a 12-2 run and led 70-60 at intermission.
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, also the subject of trade speculation, finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in what could be his final home game at the United Center.
Lakers 122, Clippers 97
LeBron James had 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Luka Doncic watched approvingly from the bench while the Los Angeles Lakers thrashed the Los Angeles Clippers 122-97 on Tuesday night.
Doncic clapped and occasionally fist-pumped during the Lakers’ outstanding performance in its first game since the side made the seismic trade to acquire the All-NBA scoring champion in exchange for star big man Anthony Davis. James and Doncic sat next to each other and talked at times. Doncic is close to a return from a strained calf.
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Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who finished a six-game trip with five victories despite losing Davis to injury even before the trade. The Lakers’ victory was their first at Intuit Dome, their crosstown rivals’ sparkling new arena.
Norman Powell scored 20 points for the Clippers (28-22), who fell two games behind the fifth-place Lakers (29-19) in the West.
Trail Blazers 112, Pacers 89
Anfernee Simons had 22 points and Portland won its fifth straight game with a victory over Indiana.
Jerami Grant added 20 points for the Blazers, who have won nine of their last 10.
Andrew Nembhard scored 17 points for the Pacers in the loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak.
T.J. McConnell’s basket got the Pacers within 80-74 in the fourth quarter but Scoot Henderson hit a 3-pointer from distance that gave the Blazers an 89-76 lead with 6:10 left.
The Pacers have won 12 of 15 since the start of the year and rank among the top five in the league for offense and defence over that span.
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