The Philadelphia 76ers made a statement as Joel Embiid piled on a 40-point triple-double as they won 103-93 over the Cleveland Cavaliers without new acquisition James Harden on Saturday.
Embiid scored 40 points with 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Sixers, who improve to 34-22. It was only Embiid's fourth career triple-double.
The Cameroonian center's points haul included a highlight-reel dunk, a one-handed throw-down over Jarrett Allen late in the first half.
Embiid also made four of five three-pointers, going at 50 per cent from the field, while he added three steals in an outstanding game as they wait on Harden to be cleared medically to debut.
Klay hits season-high
Klay Thompson scored a season-high 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors won 117-115 over the Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James had 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.
The Chicago Bulls, sitting second in the Eastern Conference, overcame a sluggish start as DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points with six rebounds and five assists, while Nikola Vucevic added 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 106-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Luka Doncic scored 45 points with 15 rebounds and eight rebounds in a losing cause as the Dallas Mavericks went down 99-97 to the Los Angeles Clippers, while the table-topping Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight with a 132-105 win over the Orlando Magic led by Devin Booker's 26 points and Chris Paul's 15 assists.
Nets slump to 11th straight loss
Kyrie Irving led a late Brooklyn Nets charge that fell short as they went down 115-111 to the Miami Heat. Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, with five rebounds and five assists as the Nets slumped to their 11th straight defeat. Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat who have won five in a row.
Kevin Durant has returned to on-court practice but the Brooklyn Nets are still not offering any timeframes on his return to play.
Durant has been sidelined since January 16 with an MCL strain in his left knee, with reports he will not return until after the All-Star Game on February 20.
The Nets have lost 10 in a row in the absence of Durant, who is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season.
Durant joined the Nets for their current road trip, marking the first time since sustaining the injury and noted he is edging closer to a return.
"I'm getting better every day," Durant told reporters prior to Saturday's game against the Miami Heat.
"It's obviously a process to get back on the court and I'm going through that every day. I'm feeling much better as each week passes. It's slow but you know I'm looking forward to ramping things up."
He added: "I feel that the next couple weeks that I'll start to do more. That's probably as much as I can give you and I don't know for sure.
"I'm just listening to the training staff, just doing my job and coming in and following the game plan every day. Whatever they give me.
"But from the last few weeks I feel like they'll be able to give me more and more each day goes on so I'll ramp up here soon and we'll see what happens.
"I want to be back as fast as possible but I also know that I don't want to go out there and be 80 percent. I want to be 100 so I can be the best that I can be."
Nets head coach Steve Nash also declined to offer any timelines on 12-time All-Star's likely return.
"He's on the court shooting, working through things, looking really good," Nash said on Saturday. "There's still a period of time he's got to go through to get over the line, but really positive."
The Nets also confirmed new trade acquisitions Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond would not yet debut against the Heat on Saturday.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel insists there is alignment and good energy within his roster despite letting the trade deadline pass without making any moves.
The Lakers were one of the big players with player movement during the off-season but have struggled to 26-30 record this season.
Russell Westbrook's acquisition has not brought the hoped impact and he was linked with a trade but that did not materialise, nor any other potential moves.
The Lakers' inaction has reportedly led to some friction between vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and star pair LeBron James and Anthony Davis but Vogel downplayed that, insisting there was good energy within the roster.
"I think there's just a natural reset energy to our group, knowing that the trade deadline has passed," Vogel told reporters.
"This is the group that we put together to start the year. This is a group we believe in."
Vogel had said "if there's a way to improve our team, we'll improve our team" ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, while he also acknowledged the team's energy "isn’t good right now" after Tuesday's 131-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
But the Lakers head coach was buoyed by Friday's practice and film session ahead of Saturday's game with the Golden State Warriors and a potential run down the stretch to push for the playoffs.
"I think with that deadline passing and having a refreshed mindset today, our group had really good energy about going out and trying to win a game [Saturday] and understanding and believing in what we can do this year," Vogel said.
MVP contender Joel Embiid is glad to put the Ben Simmons trade saga behind him and the Philadelphia 76ers admitting the situation was "pretty annoying".
Simmons landed a blockbuster NBA deadline trade to the Brooklyn Nets, with 2018 MVP James Harden heading in the opposite direction, with Paul Millsap, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and a pair of first-round picks also swapping hands.
Three-time All Star Simmons had not played all season after an off-season fallout with the 76ers following a disastrous playoffs campaign, before seeking a trade away which took months to reach a resolution, with Embiid regularly pressed on the situation.
"Yeah, I'm happy that I'm not going to be answering any more questions about that subject," Embiid told reporters.
"It's good that, not just for me, but my teammates, the whole organization. The whole year, it was pretty annoying with the whole situation, but I'm glad that everybody has moved on.
"I wish everybody the best in whatever they want to accomplish, but I'm focused on winning games here and trying to win a championship."
Embiid and Simmons' partnership at the 76ers had been seen as the foundation for an NBA title push but the duo never took the side to the NBA Finals, despite being Eastern Conference top seeds last season (49-23 record).
"It's unfortunate how everything happened, because you look at the history and we didn't get it done as far as winning in the playoffs, but you look at the history being on the court, what we did in the regular season, we were dominant," Embiid said.
"So it's unfortunate that winning was not the biggest factor. It's unfortunate that for him, having his own team and being the star was more of his priorities.
"But I always thought that everything was great, the fit was great. But unfortunately Ben thought that it wasn't. But we all move on."
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan threw his support behind Zach LaVine after the shooting guard let the Minnesota Timberwolves off lightly.
Facing his old team, LaVine was not at his sharpest and there were post-game suggestions he might be struggling physically.
LaVine, who joined Minnesota in the 2014 draft before moving to the Bulls three years later, managed just 12 points and six assists in almost 37 minutes on court.
Ultimately, it hardly mattered that he fell well short of his season's average of 24.6 points, as the Bulls pulled off a 134-122 win.
They are now 35-21 for the season and will tackle the Oklahoma City Thunder – Donovan's old team – on Saturday.
Coby White scored 22 points, Javonte Green bagged 23 and Nikola Vucevic's 26 points proved important as the Bulls were led by DeMar DeRozan's 35-point game.
It was a fifth successive 30-point game for DeRozan and Donovan saluted his "unbelievable" performance.
After quarters of 27-27, 33-32 and 32-32, the Bulls stretched clear in the fourth, which they took 42-31 to swat away the Timberwolves (29-27).
Asked afterwards about LaVine's condition, Donovan said: "I just think at this time of the year, I don't think anybody's feeling probably great.
"He's had to deal with his knee, he's had to deal with his back. It's a lot right now, and I'm sure he's not quite where he wants to be physically, but I give him a lot of credit, he's going out there and competing and playing and trying to do what he can do to help the team.
"We're going to have to work through this with him a little bit. He's trying to do everything he can to help us."
Donovan said the Bulls would "take his pulse – [see] how's he feeling, what's he going through, what's he experiencing" before finalising plans for Saturday's game.
"Zach's an elite scorer in this league and has been for quite some time," Donovan said, "but if he has a game like that you've got to try to generate good shots.
"It was great to see Javonte and Coby step up and have the offensive nights they had. DeMar's been doing it pretty consistently all year long.
"Zach tried to play the right way. I think the guys are trying to help each other and complement each other, and they're very, very unselfish based on who's going well and who's playing well."
Doc Rivers believes the Philadelphia 76ers have the tools to make a play for an NBA championship after clinching a deal to bring in James Harden.
The Sixers coach saw his team beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-87 on Friday night to improve to 33-22 for the season, and they sit fifth in the Eastern Conference.
A stiff test comes on Saturday as they tackle the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sit three places above Philadelphia after winning two more games, and from next week Harden comes into contention once he touches down after departing the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers signed up Harden and Paul Millsap this week from the Nets, sending Seth Curry, reserve center Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons and two first-round picks the other way.
Asked whether the trade means his team might now be equipped to mount a serious title challenge, Rivers said: "Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don't know. That's something we will find out. We did it with the belief we do, obviously."
Rivers is looking forward to coaching Harden, the 2018 MVP, despite the 32-year-old only scoring at 22.5 points per game this season, his worst record since posting an average of 16.8 with Oklahoma in the 2011-12 season.
"Obviously, we don’t have him yet, so we have to wait and see. But he's a guy that creates his own shot, creates shots for others," Rivers said. "He's another guy on your team that gets double-teamed, which is really valuable. When you have all that, you like it a lot."
Rivers, now 60, has previously won an NBA title, landing glory with the Boston Celtics 14 years ago.
His hunger for more success on that scale remains unstated, and he said: "Let me repeat this one more time - you and no one else can put no more pressure on myself than I do. It will never happen. I'm in this to win. I've always been in this to win.
"I think the reason we did this deal was so we could step into the fray."
Rivers acknowledged Drummond's part in the multi-player deal came as a surprise to the player.
"Drummond - he never thought he was leaving, but Ben and Seth had a pretty good inkling this could happen," Rivers said.
Joel Embiid had 25 points and 19 rebounds in the Sixers' Friday night win, and he will relish teaming up with Harden.
Simmons had not played for Philadelphia since their playoffs exit at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks last season, and he has finally got his wish to move on.
Embiid took aim at his former teammate as he said: "I honestly don't care. It's unfortunate how everything happened, because you look at the history and we didn't get it done as far as winning in the playoffs, but you look at the history being on the court, what we did in the regular season, we were dominant.
"So it's unfortunate that winning was not the biggest factor.
"It's unfortunate that for him, having his own team and being the star was more of his priorities. But I always thought that everything was great, the fit was great. But unfortunately Ben thought that it wasn't. But we all move on."
Joel Embiid extended his scoring run as the Philadelphia 76ers won their first game since trading for James Harden on Friday.
The 76ers have been busy in trade action this week, finally moving on Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets and receiving Harden in exchange, but focus returned to the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Former MVP Harden is yet to make his 76ers bow, but Embiid – perhaps the best performer of this NBA season – continued to perform without him.
The Cameroonian center had 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in the 76ers' 100-87 win, which also saw Tyrese Maxey score 24.
This was Embiid's 22nd straight game with 25 or more points in a sequence only three players – Kevin Durant (twice), new 76er Harden and former 76er Allen Iverson – have topped this century.
Embiid, who shows no sign of slowing, had already secured the best streak by a foreign-born player of the past 50 years when Giannis Antetokounmpo's 20-game run ended against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Pacers new boys beaten
The 76ers next play the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will be on a high after a dramatic late show against the new-look Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers, fired by debutants Tyrese Haliburton (23 points) and Buddy Hield (16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), did not trail at any point until late in the fourth quarter at home to the Cavs.
But Rajon Rondo's three-pointer swung momentum in the Cavs' favour, and their own recent signing Caris LeVert had a key role late on as he finished with 22 points in a 120-113 win.
More debutants deliver
Haliburton and Hield were not alone in making an instant impression.
Montrezl Harrell had 15 points as the Charlotte Hornets routed the Detroit Pistons 141-119, also boosted by 31 from LaMelo Ball and a triple-double for Terry Rozier. Meanwhile, Derrick White's 15 from the bench helped the Boston Celtics see off the Denver Nuggets despite Nikola Jokic's triple-double.
It was not all about those who have been on the move this week, though, as Jokic showed.
Dejounte Murray had a 32-point triple in the San Antonio Spurs' defeat of the Atlanta Hawks, while DeMar DeRozan's remarkable season continued with his fifth straight 30-point game.
DeRozan reached 35 as a blistering fourth quarter took the Chicago Bulls past the Minnesota Timberwolves 134-122.
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