LeBron James is "humbled" by the support he has received as he credited his fans after being voted as an All-Star for a record 20th time.

James, who scored 25 points and added 12 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 141-132 on Thursday, has now surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's tally of 19 All-Star nominations.

The 39-year-old will captain the West, and start alongside Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will captain the East on his eighth All-Star selection. 

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid is set for his seventh All-Star appearance, with Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Hailburton completing the East's lineup.

"I give credit and a lot of respect to my fans who have been along with me through this whole 21-year journey," James said.

"And voting me in as an All-Star starter for the 20th-consecutive time, just very humbled.

"Very blessed to be able to do what I love to do and just try to give back, give back to the game that's given me over two decades.

"So, to be able to know this is the first time ever in NBA history to have this many All-Star starts or whatever the case might be, it's very cool.

"I've exceeded anything that I ever dreamed about being in the NBA. And I did that a long time ago. Everything else is just kind of extra credit. I'm very humbled by still being able to play the game I love and have these accomplishments along the way."

Lakers coach Darvin Ham joked that James was a "victim of his own success".

Ham said: "Kudos to him, man. He's a victim of his own work and success. It's crazy.

"I was thinking about this to myself, like, 'Damn, he'll never have an All-Star Weekend to himself just not to have any obligations.'

"And do that for 21 years, oof. But that's his work. He put that work in. He's maintained that consistency, that durability. And I'm happy for him."

James is averaging 24.8 points per game across 41 appearances for the Lakers this season, while also contributing 7.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds.

The 73rd NBA All-Star weekend will take place in Indianapolis between February 16 and 18.

Pascal Siakam notched his first triple-double in over a year and the Indiana Pacers snapped the Philadelphia 76ers’ six-game winning streak, 134-122 on Thursday.

Siakam had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, Myles Turner added 20 points and nine boards and Andrew Nembhard contributed 19 points as Indiana snapped a three-game skid.

Joel Embiid scored 31 points just three days after setting the franchise record with 70 points. He has scored at least 30 points in 21 consecutive games.

Despite playing without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers were never seriously threatened in this one. They opened with six straight points, quickly extended the lead to double digits and led by 17 before settling for a 73-61 edge at the break.

Porzingis injured in Celtics’ win

Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 19 before leaving with a sprained left ankle as the Boston Celtics rolled to a 143-110 rout of the Miami Heat.

Jaylen Brown added 18 points and Jrue Holiday had 17 for the NBA-leading Celtics, who registered their most-ever points against Miami, with the 33-point margin their most lopsided win in 172 meetings between the franchises, including playoffs.

Boston made 22 3-pointers, shot 63.8 percent from the field and held a 47-31 rebounding advantage.

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro scored 19 points apiece for the Heat, who dropped their season-high fifth straight.

Surging Knicks roll over Nuggets

OG Anunoby scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson added 21 as the New York Knicks sent the defending champion Nuggets to their worst loss of the season, 122-84.

Quentin Grimes had 19 points, Julius Randle scored 17 and Donte DiVincenzo chipped in 16 as the Knicks won their season high-tying fifth in a row and improved to 11-2 since Anunoby was acquired from Toronto.

Nikola Jokić led Denver with 31 points and 11 rebounds, but the Nuggets had a three-game winning streak stopped. Their previous biggest loss was a 119-93 defeat to Oklahoma City on Dec. 29.

New York was 15 of 38 from 3-point range, while Denver was 5 of 26.

LeBron James has added yet another superlative to his legendary career resume.

On Thursday, the NBA unveiled the starters for the 2024 All-Star Game, with James voted an All-Star for a record 20th time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar previously held the record with 19 selections.

With the Feb. 18 All-Star Game reverting to its traditional East vs. West format, James will be the West captain and will start alongside Kevin Durant (14th selection), Nikola Jokic (sixth), Luka Doncic (fifth) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (second).

Giannis Antetokounmpo (eighth selection) will serve as the captain of the East team and will start alongside Milwaukee Bucks teammate Damian Lillard (eighth), Joel Embiid (seventh), Jayson Tatum (fifth) and Tyrese Haliburton (second).

Starters were selected by a combination vote, with 50 percent weight given to fans, 25 percent to selected media members and 25 percent to fellow players.

New to this season’s voting was the elimination of the center position designation, with the ballot shifting to three frontcourt spots and two backcourt spots in each conference.

The reserves are voted on by the league’s head coaches and will be announced on Feb. 1.

The 73rd NBA All-Star Game will be played in Indianapolis.

Wes Unseld Jr. will no longer serve as the head coach of the Washington Wizards and will move into a front office advisory role, the team announced on Thursday.

Washington is 7-36 this season, the second-worst record in the NBA behind the Detroit Pistons (5-39).

"After several thoughtful conversations with Wes, we determined together that a change was needed for the benefit of the team,” Wizards president Michael Winger said.

“Wes embodies the characteristics we value in our organisation, and his vast basketball experience will be an asset to the front office as we progress toward our long-term goals.

“We are thankful that he will continue his contributions to our organisation and community.”

Winger said Washington would name an interim head coach for the remainder of this season later Thursday before beginning its search for a full-time replacement after the 2023-24 campaign.

Unseld Jr. began his NBA coaching career as an assistant with the Wizards in 2005 before being an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.

The son of Hall of Famer Wes Unseld returned to Washington in 2021 for his first head coaching job and went on to post a 77-130 record with no play-off appearances.

“I am grateful to have served as head coach of the Washington Wizards,” Unseld Jr. said. “I look forward to this new opportunity to work toward our organization’s continued progress.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard expressed their surprise at the firing of Bucks coach Adrian Griffin after Milwaukee won its first game since the decision.

There was a third triple-double in four games for Giannis as Milwaukee ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak on Wednesday with a 126-116 home victory.

Antetokounmpo had 35 points, a season high-tying 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double this season. He came up one assist shy of having four consecutive triple-doubles after he had 31 points, 10 boards and nine assists in Saturday’s win at Detroit.

Joe Prunty served as Milwaukee’s interim head coach after Griffin was fired on Tuesday despite the Bucks leading the Central Division with a 30-13 record, putting them second in the Eastern Conference. The team was finalising negotiations with Doc Rivers to take over.

Lillard added 28 points and Khris Middleton had 24 for the Bucks, winners of six in seven, as Cleveland lost despite Donovan Mitchell scoring 23 points and Jarrett Allen having 21 and 12 assists.

Two-time MVP Giannis was not expecting the decision to fire first-year coach Griffin, but stressed he trusted the front office.

"Their job is to create the best team possible and the best atmosphere around the team possible that they believe gives us a better chance to win a championship," Giannis said to ESPN. 

"But yeah, I do think [firing coach Griffin] was a surprise.

"I've got to trust the front office, I've got to trust the ownership group that they consider the bigger picture. My job is to be the best version of myself, to lead this team out there and help win games."

Giannis had expressed concerns over the Bucks’ performances this season but stressed he had no personal issues with Griffin.

"I loved the guy, I invited him to my wedding," Antetokounmpo said. ""I was coached by him and we did very, very, very well.

"When somebody is being hired, the GM might come and ask, 'What do you think about that? What do you think about this?' or whatever and not just me – players and people that he trusts their advice. 

"But at times they make it seem like it's the players that are making the decision.

"For a coach like Griff, from Day 1, everything was about togetherness. He was always leading this group into the direction we set at the beginning of the year. 

"Him not being here, at the end of the day, we’re humans. It hurts everybody. But we’ve got to keep on moving forward. We have a goal in our head, which is to be the best basketball team that we can be."

Lillard had a similar view to Giannis that the news was unexpected, though has agreed the Bucks could be playing better.

"There's been a lot of expectations on our team," he said. "Things have been expected to look a certain way. We've had a bumpy road to our success, which is sometimes a part of the process. 

"I was surprised. But it's part of the game. People get traded, people get waived, people get fired, and that's never something you want to see."

The Bucks never trailed in a win which avenged their 40-point loss in Cleveland last week and the teams will play again on Friday.

"Our experience really worked in our favor in this situation,” added Lillard. "We have all experienced a lot of things.

"I think this was different for everybody, but we just understood we had a game tonight, and it was going to be a tough game against a really good team that kind of handled us the last time we played them."

Giannis Antetokounmpo notched his third triple-double in four games and the Milwaukee Bucks ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak Wednesday with a 126-116 victory in their first game since the firing of coach Adrian Griffin.

Antetokounmpo had 35 points, a season high-tying 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double this season. He came up one assist shy of having four consecutive triple-doubles after he had 31 points, 10 boards and nine assists in Saturday’s win at Detroit.

Joe Prunty served as Milwaukee’s interim head coach after Griffin was fired on Tuesday despite the Bucks leading the Central Division with a 30-13 record. The team was finalising negotiations with Doc Rivers to take over.

Damian Lillard added 28 points and Khris Middleton had 24 for the Bucks, winners of six of seven.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 23 points and Jarrett Allen had 21 and 12 assists.

Booker scores 46 for streaking Suns

Devin Booker scored 22 of his 46 points in the third quarter and the Phoenix Suns won their seventh straight game, 132-109 over the Dallas Mavericks.

Bradley Beal had 20 points and Kevin Durant added 12 and 10 rebounds as Phoenix matched its longest win streak of the season by turning a 16-point deficit in the second quarter into a 22-point lead after outscoring Dallas 43-20 in the third.

Luka Dončić tallied 34 points, eight rebounds and nine assists but didn’t get much help with All-Star sidekick Kyrie Irving out with a right thumb sprain.

Gilgeous-Alexander keeps Thunder hot

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points, 10 assists and six rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away for their fourth straight win, 140-114 over the San Antonio Spurs.

Aaron Wiggins scored 22 points and Chet Holmgren added 17 and nine rebounds as the Thunder remained tied with Minnesota atop the Northwest Division.

Victor Wembanyama had 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs rookie faced off against Holmgren in a matchup of two of the top contenders for Rookie of the Year.

Draymond Green's disciplinary issues this season have played a part in him missing out on selection for the Paris Olympics, so says Team USA chief Grant Hill.

Green, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, has not made the 41-man list, which was unveiled on Tuesday.

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid all featured on the list, which will be whittled down to a 12-man roster ahead of the Olympics, which take place in July and August in the French capital.

But Golden State Warriors power forward Green, who helped Team USA triumph in 2016 and 2021, will not feature at another Games, with executive director Hill claiming the two suspensions the NBA has handed the 33-year-old's way in recent months have swayed that decision.

Having served a five-game suspension in November for grappling with Rudy Gobert, Green then missed a further 12 games after striking the head of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.

"His contributions have been significant, and he is a real part of the legacy of this organisation for his excellence," Hill said of Green.

"But I think just in lieu of sort of what's transpired this year, we made a decision to not have [Green] on this list with this particular point in time with the process."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is set to take charge of Team USA at the Paris Games.

Doc Rivers has agreed to become the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday.

The report comes one day after the Bucks surprisingly fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin with Milwaukee sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record.

Rivers has been serving as an analyst for ESPN after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers last May.

Rivers ranks ninth all-time in NBA history with 1,097 coaching victories in the regular season and fourth with 111 play-off wins.

He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA title in 2008 and back to the Finals in 2010.

The Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer last offseason after a first-round play-off exit and turned to Griffin, who had been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2008.

Milwaukee, though, has been criticised for its lacklustre defence this season.

The Bucks are allowing 120.5 points per game after giving up 113.3 points a contest in 2022-23. That decline of 7.2 points per game is the second largest in the league this season.

Kawhi Leonard claimed there is a "different dynamic" to the Los Angeles Lakers when LeBron James is out.

Leonard recorded a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while James Harden had 23 points and 10 assists, as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated a Lakers team shorn of superstar James 127-116 on Tuesday.

James was out with an ankle issue, with the Lakers treating his recovery on a day-to-day basis.

While the Clippers have won 11 of their last 13 games, the Lakers have now lost four road wins on the spin.

Leonard suggested there was a noticeable difference to the Lakers, not that players did not step up in James' absence. D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 27 points and Anthony Davis had 26.

"It's a different dynamic with him not being out there," Leonard said.

"You saw guys came in and stepped up and made big shots for him."

Reflecting on the Clippers' display, Leonard added: "Everybody contributed to the win. That's what we've got to do, knock down shots when they're open and tonight we did."

Despite a win that has taken the Clippers, who are fourth in the Western Conference, to a 28-14 winning record, coach Tyronn Lue said there is still plenty to improve on.

"Just overall, [we] didn't play a good mental game and we didn't do a good job with our coverages, especially defensively," Lue said.

"We were all over the place. We've just got to continue to keep getting better."

Leonard added: "They're a good transition team and we allowed them to play to their strengths. We just got to be better at that."

Lakers boss Darvin Ham, meanwhile, took positives from the defeat.

He said: "Like I told them just now, a lot of good things we did during this game.

"Our guys competed, competed their butts off. The [Clippers are] going to make you pay [for mistakes], that's how they're built.

"They are in a really good rhythm. But that said, I think the lesson tonight is how we competed, how we competed together. Again, guys taking accountability for mistakes and not making them twice.

"Trying to get better defensively as the game was ticking away. Disappointed in the loss but proud of how our guys competed minus LeBron."

On LeBron's status, Ham added: "Just trying to be proactive with his ankle. He'll probably be day-to-day. But that's pretty much it."

Nikola Jokic scored 31 points as part of his league-leading 13th triple-double of the season and Jamal Murray also had 31 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

Jokic sealed Denver’s third straight win with a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining. He leads all active players with 118 triple-doubles.

Myles Turner had 22 points and Pascal Siakam added 16 with 10 rebounds in his first home game since the Pacers acquired him from Toronto last week.

Indiana lost its third in a row overall and eighth straight against Denver.

The Nuggets took a 93-81 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pacers took the lead 103-102 on Ben Sheppard’s 3-pointer with 3:42 left.

Jokic’s layup with 1:38 to play gave Denver the lead for good and Murray’s running finger roll 22 seconds later made it 111-107.

McCollum sinks 9 3-pointers as Pelicans erupt

CJ McCollum matched his season high with 33 points and went 9 for 13 from 3-point range as the New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise scoring record in a 153-124 win over the Utah Jazz.

Zion Williamson added 17 points and a career-high 11 assists and Herb Jones scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who surpassed their previous franchise record of 149 points in a win over Sacramento in October 2018.

McCollum shot 11 of 17 from the field and New Orleans connected on half its attempts from long range (23 of 46) as part of a 57.7 percent overall shooting effort.

Brunson, Randle team up to keep Knicks hot

Jalen Brunson had 30 points and Julius Randle flirted with a second straight triple-double as the New York Knicks rallied for a 108-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points and OG Anunoby added 10 for the Knicks, who have won four straight and improved to 10-2 since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.

Randle finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists after he had 18 points, 16 boards and 10 assists in Saturday’s win over the Raptors.

Mikal Bridges scored 36 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers for the Nets, who entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, just two nights after squandering an 18-point advantage in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Milwaukee Bucks have fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

ESPN analyst and veteran NBA coach Doc Rivers has emerged as Milwaukee's primary target as Griffin’s replacement, according to multiple reports.

Assistant Joe Prunty is expected to be the team’s interim coach until a permanent hire is made.

The stunning move comes after Monday’s 122-113 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks have won five of their last six and currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record.

Despite the team’s solid record, the Bucks have been criticised for their lacklustre defence this season.

Milwaukee is allowing 120.5 points per game this season after giving up 113.3 per game last season. That decline of 7.2 points per game is the second largest in the league this season.

Despite winning both games, the Bucks surrendered 135 and 113 points in consecutive contests against the lowly Pistons.

Another coaching change is just the latest in a busy stretch for the 2021 NBA champions. The Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer last offseason after a first-round play-off exit. Milwaukee was able to keep Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton in free agency, then swung a blockbuster trade that replaced Jrue Holiday with Damian Lillard.

In October, franchise centrepiece Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a three-year maximum contract extension, pausing speculation about his long-term future in Milwaukee.

The onus now falls on general manager Jon Horst to find a coach who will tighten up the Bucks’ defence and maximise the pairing of Antetokounmpo and Lillard.

Milwaukee’s pool of candidates reportedly centres around accomplished coaches with winning pedigrees, with Rivers topping the list.

Rivers, who joined ESPN last summer after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers, has 1,097 career wins as a head coach and a .590 record. Rivers coached the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to a championship and reached the Finals again in 2010.

The Miami Heat are in first place, but their offence ranks as one of the worst in the NBA.

The Heat strengthened their offence Tuesday by trading for Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets.

To complete the deal, Miami is sending veteran Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round draft pick to Charlotte.

The trade was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Rozier should provide an immediate impact for the Heat, who rank 26th in scoring with an average of 110.9 points per game.

The 29-year-old is averaging career highs of 23.2 points per game and 6.6 assists. He is also shooting a career-best 45.9 per cent and hitting an average of 2.8 3-pointers per game.

He is making $23.2million this season and under contract for two more seasons, and leaves a Charlotte team that is 10-31 to join a Miami club that sits atop the Southeast Division with a 24-19 record, but has lost its last three games.

The defending Eastern Conference champion Heat have had some issues with their offence, scoring fewer than 100 points in three of their last four games. On the season, they've scored fewer than 100 points 10 times, and only the Hornets (12) and Trail Blazers (12) have had more game of being held to double digits.

Lowry had come off the bench in Miami's last two games after being in the starting lineup in each of his first 35 appearances of the season for the Heat.

A six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry hasn't had much of a presence in Miami's rotation lately, totalling just 10 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds in the last five games he's played.

The 37-year-old Lowry is in his 18th NBA season and is on a $29.7million expiring contract.

Joel Embiid praised his teammates and reflected on a memorable night after setting a Philadelphia 76ers' franchise record with 70 points in a dominant performance against the San Antonio Spurs.

Embiid powered the Eastern Conference contenders to a 133-123 win on Monday, breaking Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's team single-game record that had stood for over 56 years while also setting a season high with 18 rebounds. 

The reigning NBA MVP finished 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the foul line.

Chamberlain's previous franchise record of 68 points took place against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 16, 1967.

"Obviously, Wilt accomplished everything in the history of this league and basketball in general," Embiid said, per ESPN. "So to be in the same conversation, that's pretty cool.

"It was just a great night.

"I had it going. I mentioned a few times, a lot of teammates are extremely unselfish and they just kept giving me the ball, and I just finished it."

Embiid began his historic night with 24 points in the first quarter and had 34 by half-time, though the 76ers held a slim 62-58 lead at the intermission.

The superstar centre didn't let up in the third quarter, as he recorded 25 points for the period to help Philadelphia pull away for its sixth straight victory.

There was a prospect of Embiid being rested for the remainder of the game if the Sixers built a big lead, but the Spurs kept it close enough for him to re-enter midway through the fourth quarter to a huge reception from the fans.

He hit the 70-point mark with a steal and layup with 1:41 remaining.

"The game was still pretty close," Embiid said. "Felt like I needed to go back in. Once I got back in, I was like, 'There’s my chance. Might as well go and do it'.

"The only thing I told my teammates was please just don't force it. Let's just play basketball. If I'm open, pass it, if I'm not, make sure you make the right play.

"I feel like when you take 40 shots, obviously, you are supposed to have a big night.

"I was actually mad at myself, because I missed a lot of easy shots that I've been making all season. A lot of easy pull-ups.

"But when you're shooting that many shots, which I never thought I would be taking that many shots in my life, you're obviously going to make some, and you're going to have a big night."

The crowd were desperate for Embiid to take the record, urging him to shoot at every opportunity and he smiled as he recalled the fans booing Danuel House Jr. for taking an open corner 3.

He added: "It's unfortunate Danuel House got booed for [making the right play]! We were just trying to play the right way and make the right plays. 

"Obviously I made shots and they found me a lot."

Victor Wembanyama had an impressive game of his own in Embiid's shadow, as the Spurs' rookie sensation posted 33 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.

Embiid is now averaging 36.1 points this season – better than he posted in his MVP-winning campaign.

Coach Nick Nurse realised something special was in the works early in the third quarter.

"The time that it kind of hit me, I thought, was the start of the third," he said. 

"I think he had a bucket and an and-1, like in the first minute. I was like, 'Wait a minute, he's already got like 37, 38, something like that'. I was like, 'Geez, that's a lot, with a whole half to go!'

"Obviously, he can score in so many ways, just his sheer size gets him a lot of stuff around the basket, gets him a lot of free throws.

"The shooting touch is the skill part. The way he moves, the skill he has, the size he is. If he gets motivated like that, anything can happen."

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey had 18 points and eight assists in support of Embiid.

"He's great," Maxey said about Embiid. "I keep telling everybody, we cannot take this for granted. 

"Not just as teammates, not as an organization, but as fans – even if you are not a fan of Philadelphia, if you're just a fan of basketball, you can't take Jo for granted, man. What he's doing right now is special. 

"He's not just doing it off layups, he's not doing it off just 3s. He's doing it off every single thing. He's making free throws. He's doing so much out there.

"And you know, the kicker is he's on the other end, he's anchoring the defense as well. He's not taking any nights off on defense.

"We appreciate him, and everybody else should appreciate him, as well."

Joel Embiid set a new Philadelphia 76ers scoring record after plundering 70 points in a 133-123 victory over San Antonio Spurs.

Embiid, who had 34 points to his name by half-time, is just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 70 points in a single game.

The 29-year-old forward’s feat came 18 years to the day since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game for the Los Angeles Lakers – the second highest in NBA history.

Embiid told the NBA’s official website: “From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy. He’s the reason why I started playing basketball.

“It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favourite player.”

Although he bettered the Sixers’ previous best of 68, held by Wilt Chamberlain, Embiid remains some distance short of Chamberlain’s remarkable NBA record of 100 points in a single game set in 1962 when playing for the Philadelphia Warriors.

Embiid’s feat came on the same night as Karl-Anthony Towns set a new Minnesota Timberwolves high of 62 points in a 128-125 defeat by Charlotte Hornets.

Joel Embiid set a Philadelphia 76ers' franchise record with 70 points in a dominant performance that powered the Eastern Conference contenders to a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Embiid broke Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain's team single-game record that had stood for over 56 years while also setting a season high with 18 rebounds. The reigning NBA MVP finished 24 of 41 from the field and 21 of 23 from the foul line.

Chamberlain's previous franchise record of 68 points took place against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 16, 1967.

Embiid began his historic night with 24 points in the first quarter and had 34 by half-time, though the 76ers held a slim 62-58 lead at the intermission.

The superstar centre didn't let up in the third quarter, as he recorded 25 points for the period to help Philadelphia pull away for its sixth straight victory.

Kelly Oubre Jr. capped a 12-4 run with a 3-point play with 6:38 left in the third to stretch the lead to 85-72, and the Sixers maintained a double-digit advantage for nearly the entire rest of the way.

Embiid re-entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and hit the 70-point mark with a steal and layup with 1:41 remaining.

Victor Wembanyama had an impressive game of his own in Embiid's shadow, as the Spurs' rookie sensation posted 33 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.

Devin Vassell added 22 points for San Antonio, which had snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday's 131-127 win over the Washington Wizards.

Timberwolves lose to Hornets despite Towns' team-record 62 points

Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns had a prolific record-setting performance of his own Monday, though his 62 points still weren't enough to prevent the Timberwolves from a stunning 128-125 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Hornets, currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, overcame an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter to shock the Western-leading Timberwolves and win for the second time in three games.

Towns made 10 of 15 attempts from 3-point range and ended 21 of 35 overall from the field to surpass his own Timberwolves' single-game record of 60 points, set against San Antonio on March 14, 2022.

The three-time All-Star had 58 points through three quarters as Minnesota owned a seemingly comfortable 107-92 lead, but the Hornets hit five 3-pointers while opening the fourth on a 21-7 run to quickly pull to within one.

Minnesota was clinging to a 121-120 edge with 3 1/2 minutes left before Charlotte scored six straight points, capped by Brandon Miller's jumper off a LaMelo Ball steal that gave the Hornets a 126-121 advantage with two minutes to play.

Miller scored seven of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, while Miles Bridges had 28 points for the Hornets and Ball compiled 18 points and 13 assists. 

The Timberwolves have lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season, previously doing so from Jan. 1-3.

Merrill's hot shooting gives Cavaliers' eighth straight win

The Cleveland Cavaliers remained the league's hottest team by rolling to a 126-99 rout of the Orlando Magic to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Sam Merrill went 8 of 13 from 3-point range to lead Cleveland with 26 points, while Donovan Mitchell had 25 points along with 13 assists in a game the Cavs never trailed and were up by as many as 36 points.

Merrill scored 20 of his points in the first half as Cleveland cruised to a 72-47 lead at half-time. The Cavaliers shot 59.5 per cent for the first two quarters and 59.1 per cent in the third to move into the fourth holding a commanding 107-74 advantage.

Paolo Banchero led the struggling Magic with 18 points and Franz Wagner added 17. Orlando has now lost nine of its last 13 games and is 7-14 since Dec. 15.