Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams conceded a franchise-record losing streak "hurts like you can't believe", although the San Antonio Spurs face a similar plight of their own.

Williams' Pistons were 131-123 losers against the Indiana Pacers on Monday as Detroit fell to their 20th straight loss in NBA.

That marks the worst single-season losing run in Detroit's franchise history and the longest in NBA records since the Houston Rockets fell to 20 straight defeats in 2020-21.

The Pistons have lost 21 in a row before, although that came between the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of the 1980-81 campaign, but Williams was somewhat encouraged with his team's showing against the Pacers.

"As much as this losing hurts us, and it hurts like you can't believe, I see a lot of growth," Williams said.

"I'm encouraged by some of the things we saw tonight. We just need to build on them."

Williams suggested the Pistons' approach towards halftime was their downfall as the Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin added five of his 30-point game in a 9-0 run to close the second quarter.

"I thought the way we closed to half-time was something that kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit," Williams added.

"We're still learning that everything we do in the meat of the game has an effect on the end."

Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson were rare bright sparks, scoring 23 and 20 points respectively for the Pistons, whose 20-game run equalled the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history,

San Antonio have endured similar woes, too, setting their own franchise record after a 17th consecutive defeat following a 93-82 at the hands of the Rockets.

Victor Wembanyama led the way with 15 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks but was 1-of-6 on his three-point attempts for the Spurs, whose offense went missing in their time of need.

"They played their ass off. They played a great game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You've got to make a shot in the NBA. You can't shoot five for 41 from three.

"They did a hell of a job defensively, in that regard. Really proud of them. But just feel badly that it's hard to know what to do when you're missing that many shots. It just makes it very, very difficult."

Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell combined to go for just 1-of-18 from deep, although the latter believes San Antonio's fortunes will soon change.

"If we could have made a couple more shots, it would've been a totally different game," Vassell said. "I like where we're going.

"We were trending in the right direction. If we would've made some shots, I think it would've been a totally different game."

Johnson echoed his team-mate's sentiment, although with an added sense of frustration after the Spurs' 82 points set a record low for any NBA side in a game this season.

"We know that we put in the work for it. We believe in each other and I wouldn't want to do it any other group than the group we got," Johnson said.

"We are a young team. We had great opportunities tonight and we had great opportunities at other games. We didn't really hit shots so we know we got to kind of hang our hats on the defensive end.

"I'm excited to get back out there Wednesday and put another great performance team-wise and hopefully get [a] win."

Victor Wembanyama vowed the San Antonio Spurs will continue looking for "a good recipe" after his historic performance failed to prevent his team matching their franchise-record losing run.

At 19 years and 38 days old, the first overall draft pick became the youngest player in NBA history to post a 20-20 game, managing 21 points and 20 assists at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

However, that performance was not enough to prevent a 121-112 defeat as the Bulls rallied after the interval, with Patrick Williams, Demar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White all managing 20 points or more for Chicago.

San Antonio has now tied their all-time record losing streak of 16 games, while their 3-18 record is the worst they have ever managed through 21 games of a season.

Wembanyama – whose 20-20 game came when he was four days younger than previous record holder Dwight Howard – says it is still a case of trial and error after he starred from the center position against the Bulls.

"Experimenting in different areas of the game is always something important and interesting to me," Wembanyama said. 

"Every game is different, but we're going to see and try until we find a good recipe.

"When our opponents are down at half, of course they're going to try and have a reaction. We've got to expect that every time, because our first half was pretty solid, especially defensively. 

"There are ups and downs during the game, but we've got to get our downs less and less."

San Antonio's losing steak still stands three games short of that being endured by the Detroit Pistons, who are 2-20 after going down by a 123-91 scoreline against the Orlando Magic, their 19th straight loss.

Franz Wagner scored 27 points and Paolo Banchero added 24 for Orlando, with the Pistons now enduring the longest single-season losing streak in their franchise history and their second-longest overall.

Detroit previously lost 21 in a row across the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81.

Though Pistons coach Monty Williams acknowledged the 15-7 Magic are a tough nut to crack defensively, he wasn't happy with his team's offensive efforts.

"They're a good defensive team but we missed a lot of open shots," Williams said after the defeat. 

"They take away the paint, force you to play outside. We generated only 30 threes and just didn't hit a good percentage. We just had a hard time putting the ball in the basket tonight."

Luka Dončić notched a triple-double by halftime and finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters in the Dallas Mavericks’ 147-97 rout of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Doncic grabbed a rebound with 71 seconds left in the first half and assisted on Dereck Lively II’s dunk 12 seconds later to complete the 60th triple-double of his career. That moved him past Larry Bird into sole possession of ninth on the career list.

The Dallas superstar had the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history. Doncic shot 14 of 25 from the field and was 6 of 12 from long range.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas, which had its highest-scoring game of this season and came up two points shy of the highest-scoring game ever in regulation.

Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points for the Jazz, who played without top scorers Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) and Jordan Clarkson (thigh).

Grizzlies’ Bane goes off as Pistons lose again

Desmond Bane poured in 32 of his career-high 49 points in the second half and the Memphis Grizzlies sent the Detroit Pistons to their 18th straight loss, 116-102.

Detroit’s streak is the longest single-season run in franchise history and the longest in the NBA since the Houston Rockets’ 20-game slide in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold the NBA record with a 26-game drought in 2013-14.

Bane shot 19 of 31 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range while sinking all seven free-throw attempts. He added eight assists and six rebounds.

The Pistons held a 69-61 lead midway through the third quarter, but Bane scored the next seven points.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for Detroit, which was outscored 34-18 in the fourth quarter.

Embiid drops 50 in 76ers’ win

Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Embiid hit the 50-point mark for the sixth time in his career, falling nine points short of his career best set on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.

He was 19 of 24 from the floor with a 3-pointer on two attempts and 11 of 13 from the foul line. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey added 26 points as the 76ers averted a third straight loss.

The Detroit Pistons have some positives to build off following their loss to the New York Knicks, but Monty Williams is not a fan of "moral victories".

Detroit went down 118-112 to the Knicks on Thursday, marking their 16th straight defeat. 

They are 2-17 for the season and the first team since the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16 to lose every game in a calendar month.

Williams saw some bright sparks from his team, though he is looking for actual wins rather than moral boosts.

"I saw the fight and resiliency that we can build on," Williams said. "That's a game that we can build on.

"I'm not into moral victories. I don't know where that came from. Doesn't make sense.

"But that was something - that game, that output, that energy, production from our group - [that] is something that I'm proud of.

"That's the kind of competitive edge that we have to play with every single night.

"When you lose this many games, you got to make changes. We're not going to leave any stone unturned. We're going to look at every lineup possible to give ourselves a chance to win games and grow as a team.

"And so there may be more changes. We're just going to do everything we can to put the guys in the position to win."

Cade Cunningham echoed Williams' thoughts, adding: "Yeah, I think it's something we could definitely build off of. That's got to be our baseline, our minimum, and we can build off of that."

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took criticism of their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers "to heart" as they bounced back with a comfortable 133-107 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

The Lakers suffered a heavy 138-94 defeat to the 76ers on Monday, with the 44-point losing margin the largest in James' long career, one that stretches back to 2003.

But the Lakers hit back with an easy win over an overwhelmed Pistons team, and James felt he and his team-mates utilised the scathing assessments of the 76ers defeat to their advantage as they got back to winning ways in emphatic fashion.

"I think we responded well and we played a lot better," James said after the win. "We gave ourselves a better chance defensively.

"We got out to a lot of their shooters that we thought could make shots from the perimeter, but we also controlled the paint. And, you know, that was very key.

"We just took constructive criticism, and we took it to heart and then we applied it to the game.

"It [the criticism] got me a little bit, [but] the next day when we left to come here, it was time to focus on the Pistons."

The Orlando Magic moved within one of the franchise record with their eighth straight win, as Franz Wagner scored 31 points in a 139-120 victory Wednesday over the reeling Washington Wizards.

Cole Anthony added 25 points and Jalen Suggs had 22 for the Magic, who are one win shy of the longest streak in team history set in 1994 and matched twice this century.

Orlando set season highs in 3-pointers (17) and shooting percentage (60.7) while its reserves outscored Washington’s 65-45.

Anthony had his sixth straight game of at least 15 points, all off the bench. In those six games, he has averaged 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points and Deni Avdija had 22 as the Wizards dropped to 1-10 in their last 11 games.

Lakers send Pistons to franchise-record 15th straight loss

D’Angelo Russell poured in a season-high 35 points and Anthony Davis had 28 with 16 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back for a 133-107 rout of the Detroit Pistons, their franchise-record 15th consecutive loss.

LeBron James added 25 points and the Lakers, coming off a 138-94 loss to Philadelphia in the most lopsided loss of his career, started fast with a 38-24 lead after one quarter and were never seriously threatened.

Detroit broke the franchise record after sharing it with three teams that had 14-game skids during the 2021-22, 1993-94 and 1979–80 seasons.

Raptors end Suns’ winning streak

Scottie Barnes scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Pascal Siakam added 22 in the Toronto Raptors’ 112-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns, who had a seven-game winning streak stopped.

Jakob Poetl had 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and Precious Achiuwa contributed 14 and 10 rebounds as the Raptors avoided a third straight loss.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points after missing two games with a sore foot, but Devin Booker managed only eight points on 2 of 12 from the field, including 0 for 4 on 3-pointers.

Booker, who missed a 3 that would have tied it with 50 seconds remaining, hobbled to the bench early in the second half after stepping on Dennis Schröder’s foot but was able to return.

 

Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams hit out at his team's lack of fight and said they were failing to honour the franchise's jersey after they slipped to a 14th consecutive defeat on Monday.

The Pistons suffered another heavy loss at Little Caesars Arena as the Washington Wizards claimed a 126-107 win, Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

While Washington ended their own nine-game losing streak, Detroit now have the worst record in the league after slipping to 2-15, losing three of their last four games by at least 19 points.

In a post-game media appearance lasting just one minute, Williams accused his team of failing to compete while acknowledging he is ultimately responsible for turning things around.

"That wasn't fight on the floor. That wasn't Pistons basketball by any stretch of the imagination," Williams said. 

"That's what this is, we have to have people that honour the organisation and the jersey by competing at a high level every night. I'm not talking about execution, just competing. That wasn't it, and that's on me."

Asked what needs to improve as the Pistons prepare to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Williams added: "It's just a level of growing up on this team, maturity, understanding what game-plan discipline is. All the stuff we talk about all the time. It's enough talking."

Guard Cade Cunningham echoed his coach's thoughts, saying the team needed to improve physically. 

"We all want to win really bad," Cunningham said. "Everybody's doing it out of the spirit of that; wanting to win, wanting to do what's best for the team.

"I think we need more aggressive mess-ups. Where we're struggling right now is slip-ups where we're not physical enough or not aggressive enough. That's what we need to lean towards instead of trying not to press.

"We play great stretches, and then we've had crazy bad stretches where we dig ourselves in too deep of a hole. 

"That's it right there, it's just holding each other accountable and when we do feel it start to slip, having the mental stamina to stay together, stay connected."

Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 138-94 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, giving LeBron James the most lopsided loss of his 21-year NBA career.

Tyrese Maxey complemented Embiid's sixth career triple-double with 31 points and eight assists, and the 76ers dominated from the 3-point line to also record their largest margin of victory in 290 all-time regular-season meetings with the Lakers.

James' previous worst loss came by 42 points, a 136-94 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 5, 2019, in his first season with the Lakers. The NBA's all-time leading scorer finished with 18 points and five assists but failed to register a rebound.

Philadelphia finished 22 of 46 from 3-point range compared to 7 of 28 for Los Angeles, which trailed by double digits since late in the first quarter and were outscored by a whopping 40-14 margin in the fourth despite the 76ers resting Embiid and fellow starters Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton the entire period.

Anthony Davis ended with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped two of three since a 6-1 stretch from Nov. 10-21.

Nuggets handle Clippers despite Jokic resting

DeAndre Jordan filled in well for a resting Nikola Jokić as the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jordan posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists starting in place of Jokic, who was held out with Denver playing for the second consecutive night. Reggie Jackson had 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets back from an 11-point deficit to start the period.

Jackson, who spent parts of four seasons with the Clippers before being traded away in February, added 13 assists. Jordan played his first 10 NBA seasons with Los Angeles from 2008-18.

The Nuggets trailed 88-77 after three quarters before outscoring the Clippers by a 36-16 margin in the fourth. They went ahead for good when Jackson capped a 15-2 run to start the period with a short floater that gave Denver a 92-90 lead with under 7 1/2 minutes left.

Los Angeles, which had won four of five following a 3-7 start, went just 4 of 17 from the field in the fourth quarter and got just six points on 2-of-13 shooting from star Paul George.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points and eight rebounds, while Ivica Zubac recorded 23 points and 14 boards. 

Wizards halt nine-game losing streak, extend Pistons' skid to 14

Kyle Kuzma compiled 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Washington Wizards to a 126-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons in a matchup of the NBA's two worst teams.

Washington, which entered the game with an identical 2-14 record to Detroit, halted a nine-game losing streak. The Pistons have now lost 14 consecutive games, tied for the longest skid in franchise history within a single season.

The Wizards led by just one early in the third quarter before Kuzma took over, as the veteran forward scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the period to help extend Washington's advantage to 94-83 entering the fourth.

Washington maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way while shooting 50.6 per cent from the field for the game. Deni Avdija and Danilo Gallinari each contributed 16 points to the victory.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points and seven assists, while Jalen Duren finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

 

 

Cade Cunningham painted a clear picture after the Detroit Pistons lost an 11th straight game.

The Pistons sit rock bottom of the NBA, having suffered a 142-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Detroit are 2-12 for the season, with a .143 win percentage.

Point guard Cunningham delivered a blunt assessment of the situation.

"We've got to be realistic about the situation," Cunningham said.

"It's hard to just be like, 'Oh we're good, we're good,' because we're bad. We've got to address that.

"We're the youngest team in the league, scrapping and clawing for everything.

"That should be the last thing that needs to be asked of us or talked about, how hard we're competing. That should be a given."

Monty Williams, the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year, is in his first season in charge of the Pistons after four years with the Phoenix Suns.

"I think a few of our guys are dealing with how hard the league is," Williams said. 

"When you're dealing with it, the one thing you can control is your competition level. I didn't see that across the board [against Toronto]."

 

Victor Wembanyama had the best game of his young career with 38 points and sparked a decisive fourth-quarter run as the San Antonio Spurs squandered a 27-point lead before pulling away for a 132-121 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Wembanyama produced a handful of highlight plays in his fifth NBA game, including a flying dunk in the lane in the second quarter. The 7-foot-4 phenom shot 15 of 26 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

He hit a 3-pointer, made three free throws, dunked and hit an 18-foot jumper during a 12-0 run after the Suns erased a 27-point deficit to tie it at 116 with 4:21 remaining.

Devin Booker scored 31 points in his return from a sprained ankle and added 13 assists and nine rebounds, while Kevin Durant tallied 28 points.

The Spurs beat the Suns in Phoenix for the second time in three days after a stunning 115-114 victory on Tuesday, when they rallied from a 20-point deficit.

Embiid leads 76ers past Raptors

Joel Embiid tallied 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 114-99 win over the Toronto Raptors in their first game since trading James Harden.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 23 points and Tyrese Maxey added 18 as Philadelphia won its third straight since a season-opening loss.

Scottie Barnes scored 24 points for the Raptors, who have lost four of five, including two losses to the 76ers in six days.

Oubre moved into the starting lineup in place of PJ Tucker, who was also dealt to the Clippers in the Harden deal.

Marcus Morris and Nic Batum did not play in their first game since they were dealt, though Robert Covington and K.J. Martin played some in the final 90 seconds with the game in hand.

Short-handed Pelicans beat Pistons

CJ McCollum poured in 33 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 23 with 13 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a pair of key absences in a 125-116 win over the Detroit Pistons.

New Orleans had a season high in points despite playing top scorers Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Williamson was given the night off in the second half of a back-to-back and Ingram missed his third straight game with right knee tendinitis.

Matt Ryan made his first career start and responded with a personal-best 20 points, making the first four 3-pointers he took and finishing 6 of 8 from long range.

Cade Cunningham had 22 points and 11 assists as Detroit lost its third straight.

Zach LaVine knows the Chicago Bulls must swiftly discover a winning formula after Saturday's loss to the Detroit Pistons.

LaVine had a career-high 51 points but it was not enough for the Bulls to avoid a second defeat of the campaign.

Chicago lost 118-102 in Detroit, as they failed to build on their 104-103 defeat of the Toronto Raptors.

The Bulls have made the playoffs just once since the start of the 2017-18 season, and LaVine knows Chicago must expect better.

"It's our third year here together, and we know how this business is," said LaVine, who became the first Bulls player with 50 points and no assists since the legendary Michael Jordan against the Miami Heat in November 1996.

"We all love each other. DeMar [DeRozan] is one of my best friends, and we talk all the time, but we have to figure out how to make this work.

"I wasn't happy with the way I was performing and the way the offense was looking. It's upsetting you have a performance like that and lose. It sucks.

"We don't want this to snowball where we have our backs against the wall. We are working every day. We have to figure it out."

LaVine was a late pick for Saturday's game, having overcome back issues to play.

"You know me, I'm going to play," he added.

Zach LaVine poured in a career-high 51 points, but it wasn’t enough as the hot-shooting Detroit Pistons came away with a 118-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

LaVine, who was a game-time decision with back spasms, surpassed his previous career high of 50 points, set against Atlanta on April 9, 2021, also a loss.

He shot 19 of 32 from the field – 7 of 13 on 3-pointers – and was 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.

LaVine became the first Bulls player with at least 50 points and no assists since Michael Jordan did it against Miami on Nov. 6, 1996.

Jalen Duran had 23 points and 15 rebounds and Cade Cunningham added 25 and 10 assists as the Pistons ended a 15-game losing streak to the Bulls.

Detroit shot 60.5 percent from the floor in the first half and finished at 52.3 percent (45 of 86).

DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and Nikola Vucevic had 12 as the only other Bull to reach double figures.

 

76ers coach Nurse gets 1st win

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 34 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-107 to give coach Nick Nurse his first win against his former team.

Nurse was fired by the Raptors in April after five season that including the 2019 NBA championship. He lost his 76ers coaching debut at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points and Tobias Harris had 15 for Philadelphia, which again played without star guard James Harden, who hopes to be traded.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 24 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 17.

 

Nesmith leads Pacers past short-handed Cavaliers

Aaron Nesmith scored 17 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and the Indiana Pacers took advantage of the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers in a 125-113 victory.

Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Myles Turner added 20 and 12 boards for Indiana, which outscored Cleveland 29-12 in the second quarter.

The Cavaliers were without starters Donovan Mitchell (right hamstring soreness), Darius Garland (left hamstring strain) and Jarrett Allen (left ankle bone bruise).

Evan Mobley had 33 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland.

Monty Williams will be named the next coach of the Detroit Pistons and is expected to sign a six-year, $78.5 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Pistons will give Williams the largest coaching deal in NBA history to replace Dwane Casey, who stepped down as Detroit’s coach in April to move into a front-office role.

The Athletic reported that there are team options for the seventh and eighth year, and incentives that could increase the deal to $100 million.

Williams was fired by the Phoenix Suns on May 13 after four seasons with the team, including a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals. He won 63 percent of his games with the Suns and was named the NBA Coach of the Year in May 2022 after leading Phoenix to a franchise-record 64 wins.

The Suns, however, had huge losses in elimination games in the playoffs in consecutive seasons and that ultimately led to Williams’ firing.

Casey went 121-263 in five seasons with Detroit and the team made the playoffs only once under his guidance.

The Pistons finished an NBA-worst 17-65 in 2022-23 for their seventh straight losing season. They haven’t won a playoff round since 2007-08.

Dwane Casey has stepped down as Detroit Pistons head coach and will take up a new front office role.

Casey announced after the Pistons' final game of the season on Sunday, which ended in a 103-81 defeat to the Chicago Bulls, that he would not be staying on as head coach.

Detroit ended the season with the worst record in the NBA of 17-65.

Casey will remain with the franchise, but there will be a new head coach next season.

"This is my last game," Casey said. "I'm moving to the front office.

"I'm excited to go to the next phase of my life. Time to spend more time with my family. This team is on the right track. They probably need to hear a new voice. This is my decision.”

Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee and former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka are reportedly expected to be among the candidates to replace the 65-year-old.

Casey took over as Pistons head coach in 2018 and ends his tenure with a record of 128-262.

The Dallas Mavericks' playoff hopes suffered another setback after James Harden inspired the Philadelphia 76ers' fourth-quarter charge on Wednesday.

The Mavs, who had lost seven of their previous 10 games coming into the contest, led 91-89 at three-quarter time at Wells Fargo Center before the home side rallied to triumph 116-108, clinching their 50th win of the season.

Harden provided the assists for all of Philadelphia's points during a 10-0 run that flipped the contest, condemning the Mavs to a 37-40 record and leaving them in danger of missing the playoffs and play-in tournament in the Western Conference. Dallas failed to score in the final 3:18 of the game.

Joel Embiid returned from a one-game, calf-injury-enforced absence to boost his MVP aspirations with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Harden had 15 points and 12 assists.

Harden's partnership with Embiid was on full show, with the pair holding the NBA's best single-season record over the past 25 years for assists by one player to another, averaging 4.8 per game, ahead of Sacramento Kings duo Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins (4.0 in the 2015-16 season).

For the Mavs, Luka Doncic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Kyrie Irving added 23 points.

Philadelphia's 50th win from their 76th game of the campaign marks the fewest amount of games required to reach that mark in franchise history since 2001.

The 50-26 76ers are third in the East, behind the Milwaukee Bucks (55-21) and the Boston Celtics (52-24).

The Bucks routed the Indiana Pacers 149-136 led by Jrue Holiday's career-high 51 points and a Giannis Antetokounmpo triple-double.

Kings end NBA's longest playoff drought

Sacramento ended their 17-year playoffs wait, the longest drought in NBA history, thanks to a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Kings pulled away with a lopsided 70-34 second half, led by Domantas Sabonis (15 points and 12 rebounds) and De'Aaron Fox (18 points and six assists), while Keegan Murray passed Donovan Mitchell for the most threes made by a rookie (188) in his 13 points.

Sacramento clinching their playoff spot came amid a chaotic night in the West, with Jalen Williams' buzzer-beating tip-in earning the 10th-placed Oklahoma City Thunder a 107-106 win over the Detroit Pistons. OKC occupy the final play-in spot.

Russell Westbrook scored 36 points as the fifth-placed Los Angeles Clippers ended the second-placed Memphis Grizzlies' seven-game winning streak with a 141-132 victory, while the taunts continued as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110.

Durant returns as Suns firm up fourth seed

Kevin Durant made his long-awaited home debut as he returned from a 10-game absence due to a sprained ankle, but he was rusty as the Phoenix Suns overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-100.

Durant shot five-of-18 from the field for 16 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Devin Booker top-scored for the Suns with 29 points on eight-of-18 shooting from the field.

The 2014 MVP Durant shot two-of-four from three-point range, both in the fourth quarter, holding off the Timberwolves who drew level in the final period, with the win helping the Suns improve to 41-35 to sit fourth in the West.

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