Joel Embiid had 41 points and 10 rebounds and got the best of fellow superstar Nikola Jokić in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 126-121 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.
In a matchup of the last two NBA MVPs, Embiid had his 18th straight 30-point game, tying Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor for the sixth-longest streak in NBA history.
Jokic had 25 points and 19 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.
Embiid converted a 3-point play with 5:30 remaining to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 118-113 and followed with his third 3-pointer of the game for an eight-point advantage.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and Tobias Harris added 24 for the 76ers, who have won three straight after a three-game skid.
Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and Jamal Murray finished with 17 and 10 assists for the Nuggets.
Suns stun Kings with furious comeback
Kevin Durant made two free throws with 1.8 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns stunned the Sacramento Kings with a game-ending 23-4 run in a 119-117 victory.
Grayson Allen matched a franchise record with 9 3-pointers and scored 29 points for the Suns, who faced a 113-96 deficit with just over five minutes to play.
Allen sparked the run with a 3-pointer and Durant hit a pair from deep before Eric Gordon drained consecutive 3-pointers to forge a 115-all tie.
Durant’s free throws with 30 seconds to play put the Suns ahead 117-115 but De’Aaron Fox tied it with a jumper with 19 seconds remaining. But he then fouled Durant, who was attempting a long jumper.
Domantas Sabonis notched his 11th triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for Sacramento.
George scores 38 in Clippers’ win
Paul George scored 18 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 128-117 for their ninth win in 11 games.
Kawhi Leonard each added 16 points and Mason Plumlee had a season-best 14 in his first start of the season for the Clippers, who won their sixth straight at home.
Jalen Williams scored 25 points and Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 19 apiece as Oklahoma City dropped its second in a row after a 9-3 stretch.
Bucks star Lillard to miss Game 4 against the Pacers with Achilles injury
Already without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks won’t have Damian Lillard in the lineup for Game 4 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Lillard played nearly 45 minutes in Milwaukee's 121-118 overtime loss in Game 3 on Friday but was ineffective down the stretch after aggravating a lingering Achilles issue.
The defeat was the second straight in the series for the third-seeded Bucks after defeating No. 6 seed Indiana in Game 1.
Antetokounmpo has not played since straining his left calf on April 9 and remains out Sunday, meaning Milwaukee will be without its two leading scorers as it tries to avoid a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points this season with Lillard adding 24.3 per game. But with Antetokounmpo sidelined, Lillard averaged 32.3 points in the first three contests against the Pacers to pace Milwaukee.
Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday.
Malone: Shoe mix-up not to blame for Nuggets' Game 4 loss
Michael Malone refused to blame a bizarre equipment mix-up for his Denver Nuggets' Game 4 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Denver headed into the game with a 3-0 first-round series lead, but ahead of a Game 4 where they could have sealed their progression, some Nuggets players warmed up in flip-flops after a delay in their shoes arriving to the arena.
Following the equipment mix-up, the Nuggets fell to a 119-108 loss as LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with 30 points to keep his team in the series.
Despite the pre-match muddle, Malone says to blame that for the ensuing defeat would be a "reach".
"Is it ideal? No," Malone told reporters. "But hopefully we can figure that out and make sure it never happens again.
"If you want to dig into stuff and say, 'well, we lost because for some strange reason our players didn't have their shoes when they got here for their normal warm-ups, that we had guys out there shooting around with flip-flops'. Is it ideal? No. But I'm not an excuse guy. And I'm not going to point to the reason we got our butts kicked in the paint because shoes weren't here."
Denver had been forced to overturn double-digit deficits in all three of their series victories prior to Saturday's defeat, and Michael Porter Jr. again lamented his team's slow start while crediting the Lakers.
"We talked about getting off to a better start," Porter Jr. explained. "It takes a lot of energy to come back from these double-digit leads, down 20, down 15, whatever it is.
"Tonight they [Lakers] did a good job of sustaining it. Whenever we got within 10 or eight, it seemed like they made a 3-pointer or made a big shot. So credit to them."
Tatum points to Celtics' toughness as key to Game 3 win over Heat
Jayson Tatum believes his Boston Celtics team showed their toughness as they claimed a 104-84 Game 3 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
As the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Boston eased to victory in the opening match of the first-round series. However, the eighth-seed Heat hit back in Game 2, taking a 111-101 triumph to level the series.
Game 3 belonged to the Celtics, though, with a strong defensive display and a big performance from Tatum, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, allowing Boston to once again get their noses in front ahead of Game 4.
In Tatum's view, the Celtics were able to match their ability with a strong mindset in Game 3 to help them regain control of the series.
"Everybody knows how talented we are," Tatum told reporters. "But can we be the tougher, harder-playing team?"
"If we can combine that with the talent, it's going to be hard to beat us.
"Can we start off every game, essentially, punching first instead of reacting? That's a test we have to be up for every single night."
The Heat hit 23 3-pointers in their Game 2 victory, but the Celtics' defensive display was a big improvement on Saturday, limiting the Heat to just 84 points.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged the Celtics' much-improved performance in Game 3, though he still believes his team has the ability to haul themselves back into the series again.
"They were the more physical team," Spoelstra explained. "They bodied us [and] bullied us.
"We have enough to get the job done. We know we have to play hard, and we also have to play well."
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