The Philadelphia 76ers had reason to celebrate after Saturday's victory over the Charlotte Hornets and Nick Nurse's side will have further joy incoming as Joel Embiid continues his recovery from injury.

Center Embiid was forced into meniscus surgery for a left knee issue at the end of January but Nurse suggested his star man could return before the NBA playoffs.

"I'm still hoping so and pretty confident, yes," the 76ers coach said when asked if Embiid would feature in the postseason.

"I think there's always stages of how these things progress. Everyone wants to know 'Well how long is it going to be?'

"And they give a wide range because of that because everyone heals differently. We're just trying to take it as it comes, get him healthy and get him back when he's ready to go."

Embiid has missed 21 games since tearing his meniscus against the Golden State Warriors, with the 76ers slipping down from third to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers man was at least in attendance as Philadelphia downed the Hornets 109-98, with that victory coming after Embiid offered a boost when returning to on-court training.

"He looked pretty good to me," said Cam Payne. "For my first time seeing him, he looked pretty good, man. He attracts a lot of attention out here. So it's probably going to make our job a little bit easier."

Against Charlotte, Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 as the 76ers withstood a fourth-quarter comeback for victory.

Buddy Hield also had 14 points and Paul Reed contributed 11, though the 76ers are still 8-13 without key player Embiid.

"I thought Buddy kept us going there for stretches in the second half," Nurse said. "He got some good spots and got some good looks.

"We only scored 109 points, but I thought the offense was really good."

Charlotte have now lost six straight to Philadelphia, though coach Steve Clifford was not too disheartened.

"We were right there with three and a half minutes left," Hornets coach Clifford said.

"We had a couple blown sets where we got a little disorganized there, but we got back into the game and I would say that we played well for about 43 minutes.

"The second quarter, we had a couple of minutes there where the ball didn't hit the paint and we took a couple of OK shots and put a lot of pressure on the defense."

Cameron Payne felt the Philadelphia 76ers found "the right juice" against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but it wasn't enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo led the championship hopefuls to victory.

Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds as the Bucks rallied for a 114-105 win over the 76ers, who had led 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the Bucks inched ahead of their short-handed visitors with eight minutes on the clock, then AJ Green added three free-throws and a 3-pointer to open up a commanding lead.

The Sixers have now lost 13 of 20 games without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who hopes to return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

However, both Payne and head coach Nick Nurse sought to take the positives from Thursday's performance. 

"I feel like we had the right juice today. We had fun and it showed on the court," Payne said after finishing with 13 points in support of Tyrese Maxey, who had 30. 

Nurse echoed that view, saying: "I think the effort was really good. We were doing a lot of things we wanted to do. We turned them over a bunch in the first half. 

"Probably the difference in the game was that we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second. But I thought we did a lot of really good things."

The victory – Milwaukee's third in a row on home turf – improved the Bucks to 43-24, a record which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 52-14 Boston Celtics. 

"They were the instigators throughout the entire first three quarters," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought in the fourth quarter it flipped."

Anthony Edwards scored 37 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 22-point deficit for a 118-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added a season-high 28 points and Mike Conley scored 23 with five 3-pointers for the Wolves, who bounced back from consecutive losses to pull within one game of the Northwest Division lead.

Kawhi Leonard left with back spasms between the first two quarters, the Clippers said. He played the entire first quarter, but he was seen leaving the arena during the second quarter.

Faced with a 57-35 deficit midway through the second quarter, Minnesota cut the Clippers’ lead to 63-55 at halftime and took control in the second half for the team’s largest comeback since November 2012.

Paul George scored 22 points for Los Angeles, which has dropped two straight for only the second time since Christmas.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert returned from a one-game absence with a right hamstring injury but then apparently injured his ribs or sternum at some point in the second half, heading to the locker room in pain.

Kings finally beat Bucks

De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis had 22 with 11 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 129-94, for their first win in the series in over eight years.

Sacramento posted its first win over Milwaukee since Feb. 1, 2016, with the 15-game losing streak being the longest active streak for any team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 13 rebounds as the Bucks finished a 1-3 California swing.

Hart stars in Knicks’ rout of 76ers

Josh Hart registered his fourth triple-double of the season and OG Anunoby scored 14 points in his return from an 18-game absence as the New York Knicks rolled to a 106-79 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hart had 20 points, a career high-tying 19 rebounds and 10 assists, and Jalen Brunson added 20 points and nine assists for the Knicks, who bounced back from Sunday’s loss to the 76ers.

Anunoby played his first game since Jan. 27 due to a right elbow injury that required surgery. New York improved to 13-2 in games that he has played in since his acquisition from Toronto on Dec. 30.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 points and Tyrese Maxey added 17 after missing the previous four games due to a concussion. Philadelphia has lost four of its last five games.

Joel Embiid is aiming to return to action before the end of the NBA season, as he targets making an appearance at the Paris Olympics.

Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, underwent surgery on a knee injury in early February.

The Philadelphia 76ers star was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists prior to sustaining the injury in a loss to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January.

While there is no firm timeline on his return, Embiid is confident he will be back for the end of the campaign.

"That's the plan," Embiid said.

"Obviously everything has to go right, as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."

Embiid suggested playing at the Olympics influenced his decision to have surgery.

"I think when you look at what unfolded and what we saw, there was only one decision, and it was to go the route that I did," he added.

Embiid looked well in with a shot of retaining the MVP crown, though that now looks unlikely.

"That's why it was extremely disappointing," Embiid said. "I was on a roll and I felt like I wasn't even close to where I wanted to be, body-wise and basketball-wise, because I wasn't at my best, so I felt like there was still another level that I could go to. It was very disappointing. But I was having fun, playing, getting a lot of wins, dominating.

"The 70-point game was fun. I never would've thought that I could be in a position to score 70 in a basketball game and having the dominance that I was doing. It was fun, but it's not over. The mindset is 'come back if everything goes well, go from there.'

"My mindset is playing basketball, playing as much as I can.

"For two months, I was not at 100 per cent, I was not even close to it. And I just felt the need to give my all to the team and just wanting to win. Because I know I can, you know, I can add that to this basketball team.

"So there's nothing different I would've done. This was very depressing. But the way I also look at it is that's another way to work on myself, on my body, and just get as healthy as possible."

The Philadelphia 76ers supporters may have jeered Doc Rivers, but the Milwaukee Bucks coach took the hostile reception in his stride as his new team won big on Sunday.

Rivers was dismissed by the Sixers eight months ago following a disappointing end to a season in which Joel Embiid was named the NBA's MVP.

Yet Rivers came out smiling after his return to Philadelphia on Sunday, with the Bucks having run out 119-98 victors.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (30) and Damian Lillard (24) combined for 54 points as the Bucks followed up their win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with a statement victory over a rival in the East.

And while Rivers received a frosty reception, he was all smiles after the game.

"I didn't even hear it, to be honest. That means I was back at home," he quipped.

"It was awesome. Really. I had three good years here, not talking about basketball, just in life. I enjoyed my stay here and made friends for life here.

"The fans were good, too. There were a couple of hilarious comments. One guy told me that Larry David was looking for me to golf. I thought that was pretty funny."

Reflecting on his tenure in charge of the Sixers, Rivers added: "I'm happy with it overall, I just wish we could've gone further.

"I wish we could have had a chance to have Joel healthy in the playoffs.

"But overall, Joel became an MVP, and we established this team as a championship contender. That wasn't said the year before.

"You think about it, we had the James Harden trade, the Ben [Simmons] stuff. Some was under my control, some was out of my control, but overall, for me, if you don't win a title, you're never exactly happy. That's why we all do this."

The Bucks are 5-7 under Rivers, who replaced Adrian Griffin in January. Antetokounmpo, though, is relishing the challenge under his new coach.

"I love him," Antetokounmpo said. "It's been incredible playing for him. He just explains to me, what he wants from me.

"You respect him because he's been 25 years in the league. You've got to respect what he's done in the league, won a championship, won a lot of games, but when he comes in the locker room, he keeps it simple."

The Bucks are third in the East, four wins ahead of the 76ers with a 37-21 record.

"I thought we were consistent," Lillard said. "We got into the paint, we were willing to make the extra pass to find the open guy and we got quality looks.

"To play good offense you find quality shots and have a lot of mix. I thought that’s what we did."

Rivers added: "We had been putting such an emphasis on defense.

"The last few games we’ve been terrific. When you have Giannis on your team, if you can get stops and get him in transition, Giannis in transition is a problem for everybody."

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves 112-107 on Friday in a matchup of NBA heavyweights.

Damian Lillard had 21 points, 10 assists and a season-high nine rebounds and Malik Beasley scored all 14 of his points in the third quarter as the Bucks improved to 4-10 under new coach Doc Rivers.

Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes to draw the Wolves within 110-107 with 31 seconds left, but Lillard’s long jumper 22 seconds later sealed the win.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points with 14 rebounds and Rudy Gobert added 12 points and 19 boards for Minnesota, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Butler among 4 ejected in Heat’s win

Jimmy Butler was one of four players ejected after a fourth-quarter scuffle and the Miami Heat held off the New Orleans Pelicans, 106-95.

Butler had 23 points and nine rebounds and Bam Adebayo added 24 points for Miami, which snapped New Orleans’ four-game winning streak and made it seven consecutive wins over the Pelicans.

Also ejected for the melee were Heat reserve Thomas Bryant and Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall of the Pelicans.

Herb Jones scored 19 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 with 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which couldn’t overcome 37.5 percent shooting, including 7 of 32 from 3-point range.

Maxey leads 76ers over Cavaliers

Tyrese Maxey scored 24 points and Cam Payne added 16 off the bench to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 104-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Maxey came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of the Sixers’ final 20 points and assisted on a 3-pointer by Buddy Hield that put Philadelphia up by eight in the final minute.

Maxey was the only Sixer to make more than one basket in the fourth quarter and also added four rebounds and two assists.

Jarrett Allen had 24 points and Darius Garland added 20 and nine assists, but Cleveland had a six-game road winning streak stopped while losing for the third time in four games overall.

LeBron James has outlined his desire to finish his storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite recent reports linking him with a trade.

While James' average of 24.8 points per game this season is down on last term's 28.9, the NBA's all-time leading scorer has continued to impress while playing through a niggling ankle injury in his 21st season in the league.

He has only missed seven of Los Angeles' 56 games thus far in 2023-24, helping the team win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament in December. 

James has a $51.4million player option for 2024-25 with the Lakers, but he recently said he was undecided on whether to take up that option.

That led to speculation that he could be available, with his current team fielding calls from the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.

However, the 39-year-old stayed put, and speaking before his record-extending 20th appearance in the NBA's All-Star Game on Sunday, he gave his clearest indication yet that he sees his future in Los Angeles. 

"I am a Laker and I'm happy. I have been very happy being a Laker for the last six years and hopefully it stays that way," James said. 

"I don't have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I'll be in, but hopefully it is with the Lakers. It's a great organisation with so many greats, but we'll see."

Warriors forward Draymond Green reportedly lobbied team owner Joe Lacob to enquire about a blockbuster trade for James, but he says he played no part in any talks with Golden State.

"I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it," James told TNT Sports of their interest. 

"Sometimes there's conversations that happen behind closed doors that you don't even know about, I guess until it's real or not, then they'll bring it to you. It never even got to me."

Looking further ahead, James knows the curtain will soon come down on his glittering career, but he is yet to make any decisions regarding the nature of his NBA farewell.

Asked whether he would announce his retirement in advance in order to receive a proper send-off, as opposed to quitting in the offseason, James said: "I'm 50-50, to be honest.

"I was asked this question a couple of days ago; 'Will you take the farewell tour, or will you just Tim Duncan it?'

"There's times when I feel like I owe it to my fans that have been on this journey with me for two decades, to be able to give them that moment where it's every city and they give you flowers or whatever the case may be. That seems cool.

"But on the other side, I've never been that great with accepting praise. It's a weird feeling for me. I don't know how it's going to end, but it's coming. It's coming, for sure." 

Recent acquisition Buddy Hield scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers held on late to end the Cleveland Cavaliers' nine-game winning streak with Monday's 123-121 victory.

Despite still being without injured reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, Philadelphia handed the red-hot Cavaliers just their second loss in their last 19 games behind hot-shooting efforts from Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr. 

Hield, making his third appearance since being acquired by the Sixers from the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 overall from the field. Oubre hit 10 of his 14 field goal attempts while also collecting 24 points.

The win was Philadelphia's second straight following a 1-8 stretch from Jan. 25-Feb. 9, during which the team lost Embiid for an extended period due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Cleveland got 36 points and six assists from All-Star Donovan Mitchell and 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jarrett Allen, but couldn't match the Sixers down the stretch after taking a 102-100 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Hield scored the final eight points of a 13-2 run that gave Philadelphia a 113-104 advantage with 4:28 left to play, and the 76ers led 120-110 with 1:25 to go following an Oubre 3-pointer.

The Cavs responded with a 9-0 spurt to pull within 120-119 on Mitchell's 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining, and had a chance to win at the buzzer when Darius Garland launched a 3-point shot that just missed the mark.

Garland ended with 21 points and nine assists, while Tyrese Maxey recorded 22 points and nine assists for Philadelphia.

Timberwolves dominate second half in rout of Clippers

The Minnesota Timberwolves got 24 points from Karl-Anthony Towns and a big third quarter to pull away for a 121-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and pad their lead atop the Western Conference.

Anthony Edwards added 23 points, 12 of which came during a dominant third quarter in which the Timberwolves outscored Los Angeles by a 40-19 margin.

Minnesota entered Monday's clash owning a slim half-game advantage on the Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, who were handed a 112-95 defeat by the Milwaukee Bucks, in the tightly bunched West standings. 

The Clippers kept it close until the latter stages of the third quarter, as the Timberwolves held a 70-69 edge with under five minutes left in the period.

Minnesota took over from there, as it closed out the quarter on a 19-3 run to take a commanding 89-72 lead into the fourth. Towns had eight points during the pivotal spurt.

The Timberwolves maintained a lead of 15 points or more throughout the final period en route to posting a second straight win and giving Los Angeles a second loss in its last three games.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the Clippers with 18 points each, while James Harden finished with 17 points and six assists. 

Bucks use defence to get past champion Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks got 36 points and 18 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo and another strong performance from their much-maligned defence to hand the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets a 112-95 loss.

Milwaukee entered Monday's marquee matchup ranked 23rd in the NBA in scoring defence at 119.3 points allowed per game, but held the formidable Nuggets to their second-lowest shooting rate of the season at 38.3 per cent.

The Bucks have yielded under 100 points in consecutive games for the first time this season. Milwaukee lost five of its first six outings under new head coach Doc Rivers prior to Friday's 120-84 rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

Nikola Jokić amassed 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Denver's second and third-leading scorers on the season, were a combined 4 of 16 from the field, however.

Murray managed just three points on 1-of-5 shooting before sitting out the second half due to inflammation in his lower legs.

The Bucks had built a comfortable 60-44 lead at that point as Antetokounmpo racked up 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting over the first two quarters. The Nuggets never got their deficit under 13 points the rest of the way and are now mired in a two-game losing streak.

 

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey is hopeful the team could have Joel Embiid available for a potential playoff run, after the NBA MVP was forced to undergo knee surgery this week. 

Embiid has been sidelined since displacing a flap of the lateral meniscus in his left knee during the 76ers' 119-107 defeat to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January. 

That injury came on Embiid's return to action after he missed the team's previous two games with another knee problem. Last Sunday, Philadelphia confirmed that Embiid would go under the knife to correct the issue, throwing his availability for the rest of the season into doubt.

The 76ers currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-21 record, though they are 4-12 in games Embiid has missed this season. 

They have lost eight of their last nine following Friday's 127-121 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, with that run casting doubt over their championship aspirations. However, should the 76ers manage a deep playoff run, Morey is upbeat regarding Embiid's prospects of featuring. 

"We're hopeful," Morey said when asked about Embiid before Friday's game. "The feedback has been more good than bad since we first heard about what led to his procedure. 

"So, we're hopeful and we're building the team to make it better this year. 

"Obviously, it's not at 100 per cent. But with Joel playing at an MVP level, hopefully, he could get back to that. This is a year where we have a real shot.

"If the hope wasn't there in Joel, I think it would have changed things dramatically. 

"We're very hopeful. Obviously, it's not 100 per cent. It's something that is probably a good chunk short of 100 per cent, but we thought it was the right thing [for Embiid to have surgery].

"There's a lot of ways to not win the title. Winning a title is hard; Joel not coming back at the level we hope is one of the ways we can't win a title this year.

"But you always want to be among the best teams and that means taking risks on the injury front. That's where we are at right now."

Philadelphia looked to rebalance their roster ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, acquiring veteran guards Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne in separate deals while allowing Patrick Beverley, Danuel House, Furkan Kourkmaz, Jaden Springer and Marcus Morris Sr. to depart.

Morey believes Hield, in particular, will provide vital support to Tyrese Maxey during Embiid's spell on the sidelines, saying: "Our priority was to get a big, but we wanted to add to our playoff rotation.

"We have to win games and it's going to be a battle, but we were focused on playoffs, we have a rotation that we know can win at a high level. He [Hield] was the only player who moved teams that would play a big role in our rotation. What he brings to the table is pretty obvious."

The 76ers' latest defeat came at the hands of a Hawks team inspired by Trae Young, who had 37 points and 12 assists as Atlanta improved to 23-29 with an impressive road win.

"This isn't the easiest place to play, so coming in here and getting a win at any time is a good thing for us," Young said after the game. 

"We had some guys out, so we needed other guys to step up and they did."

The New York Knicks have made another big move in an attempt to ascend in the Eastern Conference, acquiring scorers Bogdan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons in one of the headline deals commenced prior to Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

New York will send guards Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn and Ryan Arcidiacono along with two second-round draft picks to Detroit in exchange for two players who are both shooting over 40 per cent from 3-point range this season.

Bogdanovic is averaging 20.2 points per game after establishing a career best in that category last season, when the Croatian averaged a team-leading 21.6 points in 59 games.

Burks, who previously spent two seasons with the Knicks from 2020-22, has shot better than 40 per cent on 3-point attempts in four straight seasons and is averaging 12.6 points in 43 games in 2023-24.

New York is presently tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for third in the East and is 16-3 since Jan. 1, two days after it secured defensive standout OG Anunoby in a blockbuster five-player trade with the Toronto Raptors.

The team right behind the Knicks and Bucks in the East race added a sharpshooter of its own on Thursday, as the Philadelphia 76ers landed guard Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers for forward Marcus Morris, guard Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round picks.

Hield, a career 40.1 per cent 3-pointer shooter who is averaging 12 points in 52 games this season, will be asked to help stabilise a reeling 76ers team that has lost seven of its last eight games and will be without Joel Embiid for at least four more weeks after the reigning NBA MVP recently underwent surgery on his left knee. 

Indiana, which sits two games back of Philadelphia in sixth place, later traded Morris to the San Antonio Spurs for outside shooting specialist Doug McDermott.

Milwaukee's lone deadline move came via a trade with the 76ers for veteran defensive stopper Patrick Beverley, in which the Bucks sent fellow point guard Cameron Payne to Philadelphia.

The most active team in the Western Conference was the Dallas Mavericks, who swung two deals to bolster their frontcourt by obtaining center Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards and forward P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets.

Gafford, whose 2.16 blocks per game ranks seventh among qualified NBA players, heads to Dallas for forward RIchaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick the Mavs acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Mavericks also sent a 2027 first-round selection, along with forward Grant Williams and guard Seth Curry, to rebuilding Charlotte for Washington, who's averaged 14.9 points and five rebounds per game over the past two seasons and is under contract for two more years.

Dallas currently sits in eighth in the West but is just two games behind the fifth-place Phoenix Suns, who traded four role players in a three-team deal with Brooklyn and Memphis to add perimeter-shooting forward Royce O'Neale from the Nets and second-year forward David Roddy from the Grizzlies.

Three teams - the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets - entered deadline day tied atop the West. The Thunder were the only one of that group to make a significant move on Thursday, as they acquired former All-Star Gordon Hayward from the Hornets for guards Tre Mann and Vasilije Micic, forward Davis Bertans and a pair of second-round picks.

The 33-year-old Hayward is averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 25 games this season but has been sidelined since late December by a calf strain. 

One player who did stay put with the Hornets is Miles Bridges, the team's second-leading scorer at 21.9 points per game and an unrestricted free agent next season. Bridges had the right to veto any trade as part of the one-year contract he signed during the offseason to stay in Charlotte.

 

 

 

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and led a torrid shooting performance from 3-point range that carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to a sixth consecutive win, a 136-110 rout of the Sacramento Kings on Monday. 

Cleveland rolled to its 14th victory in 15 games by going 23 of 41 (56.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Mitchell finished 5 of 11 on 3-point tries and Max Strus was 6 for 10 while adding 22 points.

The Kings got 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists from Domantas Sabonis - his 15th triple-double of the season - but couldn't match the Cavaliers' prolific perimeter shooting as Cleveland began pulling away early in the second quarter.

Cleveland scored five straight points to stretch its lead to 46-36 less than two minutes into the second quarter and went into the half owning a comfortable 74-59 advantage behind Mitchell's 19 points.

The Cavaliers remained up by double digits the rest of the way, with their lead expanding to as many as 29 points late.

Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 22 points while finishing 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The Kings closed out a seven-game road trip in which they had won five of their first six outings and six of seven overall coming into Monday's clash.

Irving, Doncic lead Mavericks past ailing 76ers

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić combined for 42 points in the duo's first appearance together in two weeks to propel the Dallas Mavericks to a 118-102 win over the staggering Philadelphia 76ers.

Irving racked up 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with eight assists in his return from a six-game absence caused by a sprained right thumb. Doncic had 19 points and eight assists to help Dallas end a two-game skid and deal the ailing 76ers their sixth loss in seven games.

It was just the 23rd time in the Mavericks' 50 games this season they had a healthy Irving and Doncic together in the lineup.

Playing their third straight game without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who will undergo left knee surgery and is out indefinitely, the Sixers received 19 points from Kelly Oubre Jr. and 17 from Tobias Harris.

All-Star Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia's second-leading scorer behind Embiid, had 15 points but was just 6 of 16 from the field.

The 76ers did manage to lead 33-26 after one quarter and 57-53 at the half, but Doncic hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the third quarter to spark an 8-2 run that gave the Mavericks a 77-72 edge near the end of the period.

Dallas then dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the 76ers by a 41-28 margin with its bench providing most of the offence, as reserves Jaden Hardy and Grant Williams each recorded 10 points in the final 12 minutes. 

Leonard's 36 points help Clippers cap trip with win over Hawks

Kawhi Leonard scored 13 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Atlanta Hawks and completed a successful road trip with a 149-144 victory.

James Harden added 30 points and 10 assists as he and Leonard powered Los Angeles to a ninth win in 10 games. The Clippers went 6-1 on an 11-day trek away from Crypto.com Arena while the venue hosted the Grammy Awards. 

In a fast-paced fourth quarter that saw both teams combine for 90 points, the Clippers outscored Atlanta by a 21-10 margin over a late stretch to move ahead for good.

Leonard began the run with a putback of his own miss that gave Los Angeles a 124-123 lead with 4:52 left, and Harden capped it when he was fouled after hitting a 26-foot jumper with 1:06 to go. He made the free throw to complete the 4-point play and extend the margin to 143-133.

The Hawks put forth a late rally and got to within 147-144 on Bogdan Bogdanović's 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining, but Harden sunk two free throws on the ensuing possession to keep Atlanta at bay.

De'Andre Hunter had 27 points and seven rebounds off the bench to lead Atlanta, which had a four-game winning streak snapped. Trae Young finished with 25 points and 12 assists in the loss. 

 

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with a displaced flap of the meniscus in his left knee and could undergo surgery, The Athletic reported on Saturday.

Another option for the reigning NBA MVP would be to rest and rehab the injury instead of having a procedure on the knee.

Embiid was injured in the 76ers' loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in his first game back after missing two contests due to an issue with his left knee.

Embiid is the NBA’s leading scorer with 35.3 points per game and is averaging 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 34 appearances.

He had a franchise-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds on Jan. 22 against the San Antonio Spurs.

An MRI revealed that Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid suffered an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee and is out indefinitely, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.

The reigning MVP has been ruled out at least through Saturday as the 76ers’ medical staff formulates a treatment plan, but Embiid is expected to miss multiple games.

Shams Charania of The Athletic initially reported the injury as a torn meniscus in a post on X but later deleted the post.

Embiid missed the final 37 games of the 2016-17 regular season with a torn left lateral meniscus.

Embiid suffered his latest injury in Tuesday’s loss to Golden State when Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell onto the star center’s leg.

While the severity of the injury has not been announced, Embiid can only miss five more games this season to be eligible for season awards. A new provision in the league’s collective bargaining agreement requires players to play at least 65 games to be voted as the MVP or to an All-NBA team.

Embiid had been a major contender to win his second consecutive MVP award, with even better numbers than last season. The Cameroon-born star is averaging a league-leading 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season in 34 games.

Embiid’s absence will likely result in a starting role for Paul Reed and an increased workload for Mo Bamba, but the 76ers could opt to bolster their frontcourt ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

Philadelphia are 3-9 in games that Embiid has missed this season.

News of Embiid’s injury broke at virtually the same time that the NBA announced his teammate, point guard Tyrese Maxey, was selected to his first career All-Star Game.

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle described Pascal Siakam's performance as "tremendous" after he notched his first triple-double in 15 months to help end the Philadelphia 76ers' six-game winning run.

Philadelphia arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse looking to close the gap on the Eastern Conference leaders, the Boston Celtics, with a seventh straight win. However, Siakam took centre-stage in a 134-122 home victory.

Siakam finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double with Indiana, who never trailed at any point in the game.

The victory came on the same night as Tyrese Haliburton was announced as a first-time All-Star starter, and just three days after reigning MVP Joel Embiid had a 76ers-record 70 points in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

"We made it our kind of game," Pacers coach Carlisle said after seeing his team improve to 25-20.

"Siakam was obviously tremendous, the sixth triple-double of his career, his first, obviously, with the Pacers. When you have a power forward get a triple-double, it's pretty special."

The Pacers were without Haliburton as he missed another game due to a niggling hamstring injury, but they made light of his absence by racing into a 17-point lead within the first half.

Siakam's display was central to that, and Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse also heaped praise on the two-time All-Star, saying: "He was good, he was very good

"He got going early and when he does that, you're going to see him play really, really well. 

We got to him kind of late on some double teams and there was nobody there to rotate out, which is why he had such a big assist number."

The 76ers were made to pay for their slip-up as the league-leading Celtics beat the Miami Heat 143-110, avenging their defeat to the same team in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Jayson Tatum led seven Celtics in double figures with 26 points as Boston improved to 35-10, but head coach Joe Mazzulla warned the victory will be proven redundant if they don't reach the same level in the postseason.

"This game was really good, but it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things if we don't take the lessons that we need to and apply it to the next game," Mazzulla said. 

"So, we'll enjoy it until we get to the plane and then it's onto the next one."

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.

 

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