The Indiana Pacers got 37 points and nine 3-pointers from Tyrese Haliburton and set a franchise scoring record in a 157-152 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the In-Season Tournament.

Buddy Hield hit consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch, including one with 53 seconds left to put the Pacers up 155-152.

Haliburton handed out 16 assists, Hield finished with 24 points and Obi Toppin added 21 off the bench for Indiana, which trailed by 20 in the third quarter.

The Pacers are 3-0 in East Group A with one game left in group play, while the Hawks dropped to 1-2.

Trae Young had 38 points and eight assists for Atlanta, while Dejounte Murray added 28 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 26 on 10-of-15 shooting.

The Hawks held an 86-73 lead at the break and set a franchise record for points in the first half.

Allen sparks Cavaliers past 76ers in overtime

Jarrett Allen scored six of his 26 points in overtime and Darius Garland had 32 points to lead the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-119 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday in the In-Season Tournament.

Cleveland played without Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro due to injury but had six players score in double figures to remain alive for the wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 for the 76ers, who were eliminated from tournament contention with their third straight home defeat.

Allen’s hook shot with 18 seconds left in overtime gave the Cavs the lead for good before Embiid and Maxey missed layups at the other end.

Durant moves up scoring list in Suns’ win

Kevin Durant had 31 points to pass Elvin Hayes for 11th on the all-time scoring list and the Phoenix Suns handled the reeling Portland Trail Blazers 120-107 on Tuesday in an In-Season Tournament game.

Durant, playing in his 1,000th NBA game, passed Hayes in the first quarter by shooting 6 for 6.

Devin Booker added 28 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 18 and 12 rebounds to help Phoenix wins its fourth straight.

Deandre Ayton was booed heavily by the Phoenix crowd in his first game against the Suns after he was traded to Portland in a three-team deal that saw Damian Lillard go to Milwaukee.

Ayton finished with 18 points and eight rebounds as the Blazers lost their eighth in a row.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 33 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to their seventh straight win, 104-101 in an In-Season Tournament game on Tuesday that featured three early ejections.

Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels were ejected after an altercation early in the first quarter.

Thompson and McDaniels became embroiled in a shoving match near midcourt following a Minnesota possession. Green rushed in and pulled Rudy Gobert away from behind with his arm around the center’s neck.

Thompson’s jersey was ripped during the scuffle, which led to Green’s second ejection of the season and two free throws by Gobert.

Towns also had 11 rebounds and Anthony Edwards scored 20 points for Minnesota, which defeated Golden State for the second time in three days following a 116-110 win on Sunday.

Brandin Podziemski had 23 points and Dario Saric added 21 for the Warriors, losers of three in a row.

Golden State was already without leading scorer Stephen Curry, who was ruled out with right knee soreness.

Nuggets keep Clippers winless with Harden

Nikola Jokić scored 32 points and just missed a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 111-108 in an In-Season Tournament game.

Jokic had 16 rebounds, nine assists and made all 14 free-throw attempts, including two with 13 seconds left that helped thwart the Clippers’ comeback try.

Paul George matched a season high with 35 points and Harden had 21, as the Clippers lost their sixth in a row.

Haliburton stars as Pacers cool 76ers

Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 15 assists and Obi Toppin added 27 points to help the Indiana Pacers snap the Philadelphia 76ers’ eight-game winning streak, 132-126 in an In-Season Tournament game.

Myles Turner scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Indiana, which has won four of five and bounced back from Sunday’s 137-126 loss to Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid scored 39 points and De’Anthony Melton had 30 as the 76ers suffered their first loss since a season-opening defeat at Milwaukee.

Haliburton was 11 of 18 from the field and 7 for 12 from 3-point range. He had 32 assists and no turnovers in two games against Philadelphia.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored an NBA season-high 54 points, but the Indiana Pacers rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-124 on Thursday.

One night after being ejected for celebrating after a dunk, Antetokounmpo was 19 of 25 from the field and 16 for 18 from the free throw line to come up one point shy of his career high.

With Damian Lillard sitting due to an ankle injury, Antetokounmpo carried the offense but scored just eight points in the fourth quarter and finished with eight turnovers, including two at crunch time.

The Pacers trailed 117-108 with under five minutes remaining but took the lead for good with a 16-4 run down the stretch.

Tyrese Haliburton made five of Indiana’s 20 3-pointers, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:29 remaining, and led the way for the Pacers with 29 points and 10 assists.

Bennedict Mathurin added 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Myles Turner chipped in 21 points, six rebounds and four assists as Indiana improved to 6-3 with its third straight win.

Young scores 41 in Hawks’ win

Trae Young scored 33 of his 41 points in the first half and Dejounte Murray hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Orlando Magic, 120-119 in Mexico City.

Jalen Johnson had 19 points and nine rebounds and Murray finished with 16 points to help the Hawks win for the fifth time in six games.

Jalen Suggs scored 21 points to lead seven Magic players in double figures, including 17 from Paolo Banchero and Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner’s 13 apiece.

Franz Wagner’s hook with 45 seconds left gave Orlando a 119-117 lead, but Murray answered with a 3 11 seconds later and Banchero missed a 3 with 7.9 seconds to go.

The Indiana Pacers and coach Rick Carlisle have agreed to terms on a multiyear contract extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday.

Indiana began the third season of Carlisle’s second stint as the team’s head coach with a 143-120 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, giving Carlisle his 897th career win.

He ranks 14th in NBA history with those 897 wins and is second among active coaches behind Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, who is the league’s all-time leader with 1,366 victories.

Carlisle began his NBA head coaching career in 2001-02 with the Detroit Pistons and was named NBA Coach of the Year that season.

After two seasons with Detroit, Carlisle joined the Pacers and went 181-147 with three playoff appearances in four campaigns. Indiana advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in Carlisle’s first season in charge in 2003-04.

Carlisle was fired after the Pacers missed the playoffs in 2006-07 and worked as a studio analyst for ESPN before the Dallas Mavericks hired him as coach prior to the 2008-09 season.

Carlisle went on to lead Dallas to its first NBA championship in 2011 and posted a 555-478 record in 13 seasons while helping the Mavericks reach the playoffs nine times.

He resigned as Dallas coach in June 2021 and was rehired by the Pacers one week later.

Carlisle, who turns 64 on Friday, is 61-104 since rejoining Indiana as he tries to lead the franchise to its first postseason appearance since 2019-20.

Tyrese Haliburton has landed a max contract extension with the Pacers, a deal that could be worth up to $260 million. 

The deal is the largest in franchise history and also Indiana's second deal ever to surpass $100 million.

The third-year pro was an All-Star for the first time last season, becoming the first player in league history to average 20 points and 10 assists while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range in a season.

Haliburton was drafted 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2020 but was traded to the Pacers in February 2022 in a deal that send Domantas Sabonis to the Kings. 

Desmond Bane and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to a five-year, $207 million max contract extension.

Bane, 25, gets the first $200 million deal in Grizzlies' history as he's developed into one of the NBA's best young shooting guards in his three seasons with Memphis.

He set career highs with 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and field goal percentage (48 percent) for the Grizzlies last season.

Bane is among the best 3-point shooters in the NBA, making 42.5 percent of his attempts in his career, while increasing the volume each season.

Jrue Holiday joked he "felt like Giannis" after leading the Milwaukee Bucks with 51 points in Wednesday's 149-136 defeat of the Indiana Pacers.

The league-leading Bucks made it seven wins from their last 10 as they picked up their 55th victory of the season in style.

Holiday top-scored with 51 points, eight assists and as many rebounds, while talismanic team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double of 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.

It meant 32-year-old Holiday, who joined the NBA in 2009, surpassed his previous high of 40 points, set earlier this season in a win over the Boston Celtics.

For Holiday, it was a taste of what it must be like to be two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo.

"I felt like Giannis," Holiday quipped. "No dunks though.

"Obviously, I'm happy about it.

"It took me 14 years to get 50 points. It came in a game that we needed to win, so I couldn't be happier."

Holiday, like Antetokounmpo, sat out Monday's win over the Detroit Pistons, and he felt that rest was key.

"A couple of days off," he suggested when asked by ESPN what had been behind his showing. "Really just been aggressive, because I know how much we needed to win this game."

Holiday was 20 of 30 from the field, while sinking three three-pointers from six attempts.

"It's hard to come up with the superlatives to describe them," said Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer of Holiday and Antetokounmpo.

"They were phenomenal. Giannis set the tone with his aggressive attacking. Then Jrue for the whole game to have 51, that's hard to do in an NBA game.

"Together with Giannis with 38, those two guys were special, they put us on their backs."

Next up for the Bucks is a top-of-the-standings clash with the Celtics. 

Jason Kidd praised the performance of Luka Doncic after the point guard led the Dallas Mavericks to a much-needed away win against the Indiana Pacers.

Doncic was cleared to play against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after his one-game suspension for a 16th technical of the season was rescinded earlier on Monday.

The four-time NBA All-Star starred with 25 points (eight-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and six assists to guide the Mavs to a 127-104 victory, snapping their four-game losing streak.

"That's what he does," coach Kidd said. "He's one of the best players in the league at finding guys and then he's able to catch and shoot – not just once but multiple times."

The Mavericks' season had been hanging by a thread following defeats to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and the Charlotte Hornets back-to-back.

But with Doncic stepping up and Kyrie Irving chipping in with 16 points (seven-of-11), six assists, three blocks and two steals, Dallas are now 37-39 for the season.

Kidd's side are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers (37-38) and Oklahoma City Thunder (37-38) as they battle it out for the last play-in spot.

The 33-43 Pacers have now lost three straight and six of eight, meanwhile, and former Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle accepts his side had little chance with Doncic clearly in the mood.

"It's tough," Carlisle said. "Luka makes a couple of passes that were unbelievable, that only one player in the world can make."

Doncic's dazzling display proved the difference, but Carlisle – who has a league-leading 11 technicals this season – was not surprised the league allowed him to play.

"I don't know how many I have myself, I just know I've surpassed the five the team can pay for," he said. 

"They're not cheap, so if you're going to get them, you better get your money's worth."

The Mavs have another road trip at the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, while the Pacers host Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee Bucks on the same day.

Luka Doncic has been cleared to face the Indiana Pacers after the Dallas Mavericks star's suspension was overturned by the NBA.

Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season during the Mavericks' 110-104 defeat against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, after directing a profanity at an official following a correct no-call.

Dallas' fourth successive loss left them 11th in the Western Conference at 36-39, but their hopes of ending that streak against Indiana have been boosted after the NBA confirmed they had rescinded the point guard's infringement.

Doncic has been at the centre of controversy recently.

The Slovakia international revealed his frustrations at the Mavericks' poor form, while he was fined $35,000 after making "an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture" towards an official during their defeat to the Golden State Warriors.

Jason Kidd was hopeful Luka Doncic would have his one-game suspension overturned as the Dallas Mavericks work to "stop the bleeding" after a fourth straight defeat.

The Mavericks' past two losses have come against a 25-51 Charlotte Hornets team who looked to have shut down for the season.

And Sunday's 110-104 reverse, which left Dallas 11th in the West at 36-39, included a further costly setback.

Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season after directing a profanity at an official following a correct no-call, meaning he is set to be banned for Monday's game at the Indiana Pacers.

The Mavs superstar had been the centre of attention following the previous game, too, outlining his "really frustrating" situation on a misfiring team.

Doncic responded with 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but his suspension now presents a problem for a team who cannot afford to throw away another game in an intense playoff chase.

"You're never going to replace him. It's going to take a group," coach Kidd said.

"It's 'next man up' mentality with Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] and look at [Jaden] Hardy and Josh [Green] participating and playing more minutes, [Justin] Holiday playing more minutes.

"But hopefully it's rescinded. I didn't think it was warranted, but we'll see what happens.

"If he is suspended, we have to move on with the next guy, so Timmy, coming back from the flu, was really good tonight, Holiday's minutes were positive, Maxi [Kleber] did a great job, a lot of great jobs.

"I thought Luka, again, being able to do what he did after his press conference... I thought he would have a big game and he did.

"It's just unfortunate we let these two games go. We've got to figure out how to stop the bleeding."

In a highly anticipated clash between winners of the past four MVPs it was Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets comfortably handling Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks 129-106.

Played in Denver, the reigning back-to-back MVP winner put on a show for his home fans with 31 points (10-of-20 shooting), 11 assists and six rebounds. 

Jokic was supported in style by Jamal Murray, who chipped in 26 points (nine-of-19), nine assists and six rebounds, and kick-started the Nuggets with four triples in the first quarter.

Antetokounmpo, winner of the 2019 and 2020 MVP trophies, was far from the reason his side went down, posting a strong 31 points (13-of-22), nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. He led Milwaukee to a 66-63 half-time lead, before they put up just 40 points as a team in the second half.

After a mini-slump with four losses from of five games, the Nuggets have now rattled off three wins in a row, improving their home record to 31-6 in the process, which trails only the Memphis Grizzlies (32-5) for the league's best mark.

Despite the loss, Milwaukee (53-21) are still two games clear in the race for the league's best record, while the Nuggets are 3.5 games clear atop the West.

Hawks prevail despite Trae ejection

Atlanta Hawks franchise player Trae Young was ejected for throwing the ball at an official, but his side still came away with a 143-130 home win against the visiting Indiana Pacers.

Young was kicked out in the second quarter after the incident, but eight Hawks players ended up scoring double-figures to pick up the slack.

John Collins led the way with 21 points (nine-of-12 shooting), Dejounte Murray added 20 points (eight-of-20) and 12 assists, and Clint Capela snatched down 17 rebounds to go with his 17 points (five-of-five).

The win pulled the Hawks' record even at 37-37, now a game clear of the ninth-seeded Toronto Raptors (36-38) as they battle for play-in tournament positioning.

Pelicans muddy the waters in the West

The New Orleans Pelicans kept their season alive with a 131-110 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers, creating a logjam in the Western Conference's play-in placings.

Second-year Pelicans wing Trey Murphy was spectacular as he hit 10-of-12 three-pointers for an equal team-high 32 points. He was joined on 32 points by Brandon Ingram, and after Ingram's first career triple-double on Thursday, he followed it with a career-high 13 assists against the Clippers.

The win means the Pelicans are in a three-way tie for the seventh-best record in the West, joining the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers at 37-37 with eight games to play.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rovers has no long-term injury concerns over James Harden and Joel Embiid, despite the latter sitting out the second half of Wednesday's 116-91 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Harden missed the game due to Achilles soreness, while MVP candidate Embiid played a season-low 16 minutes, scoring 12 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.

The 76ers were up 76-48 at half-time, completing a routine win, with Rivers stating Embiid's early exit was out of caution from a minor calf issue.

"We've gone in the playoffs two years in a row with injuries and we all know you don't win in the playoffs when your key guys aren't healthy," Rivers told reporters. "So we're going to do whatever we can to be healthy."

Rivers indicated he expected both Harden and Embiid to be available for Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

Embiid's half-time exit meant he snapped his 10-game streak of 30-point games, which was a franchise record.

The 76ers center said he initially injured his calf during Monday's 109-105 overtime loss to the Bulls and opted to take the cautious route when he felt some discomfort on Wednesday.

"We've already clinched the playoffs, it's all about making sure we're going to be healthy for them," Embiid said. "If it feels good, of course I want to play, but if it's not right, then we gone figure it out."

Harden had struggled in Monday's loss, shooting two-of-14 in 46 minutes for five points. Rivers said Harden felt some foot discomfort during that game, leading to the decision to rest him on Wednesday.

"No concerns," Rivers said. "It just flared up a couple times and we decided instead of doing the back-and-forth, the dance, let's just sit him down, get him rest and make sure he's right."

The 76ers are third in the Eastern Conference with a 49-23 record, battling it out with the second-placed Boston Celtics (50-23) for the second seed. The two rivals are due to meet in a crunch clash on April 4.

Joel Embiid has been dubbed a "walking cheat code" by Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after leading the Philadelphia 76ers to an eight-straight win.

Embiid set a franchise record with his ninth game in a row scoring at least 30 points in the 76ers 141-121 triumph, with a tally of 31 on 10-for-15 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists.

The 76ers sit comfortably as the number three seed in the Eastern Conference following their winning streak, which stands as the longest run in the NBA - no other side having a run of victories longer than three matches.

With Philadelphia picking up form and Embiid leading the way, Carlisle ranks the 29-year-old as the best performer in the league this season.

"Embiid, right now, he's probably the MVP, with what their team is doing and how he's just elevated his game," he said.

"He's as difficult a guy to game plan for as there is in the game. Giannis [Antetokounmpo) is crazy ridiculous. [Nikola] Jokic is the same. And this guy is maybe even more difficult, if that's possible.

"He had 31 points in less than three quarters. Made it look like he wasn't even trying to do it. He's a walking NBA cheat code right now. He's just that good."

Aaron Nesmith started the game as the Pacers' first line of defence against Embiid and spoke of the difficulty in matching up against the Cameroonian ace.

"It's tough because he's such a big dude. Seven foot and very heavy. It's hard to guard him without using your hands and being physical," Nesmith said.

"In today's game, the way the refs call it, it's hard to be physical with a guy like that and not get in foul trouble.

"I was trying to find that balance. When I first got him, I picked up like three fouls because of it."

Walker Kessler produced a game-winning block to deny Grant Williams' after Lauri Markkanen's 27th double-double of the season as the Utah Jazz edged the Boston Celtics 118-117 on Saturday.

The Jazz, fighting for a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference, had re-taken the lead with 35.3 seconds remaining from Talen Horton-Tucker's lay-up before Kessler blocked Williams' game-winning two-point attempt on a drive to the basket on the buzzer.

Utah rallied back from a 19-point deficit but the Celtics went on a 14-3 run to re-claim the lead before the late drama.

All-Star Markkanen was brilliant with 28 points including four three-pointers with 10 rebounds and three assists for Utah, while Horton-Tucker added 19 points. Among Markkanen's triples was one with 1:19 to play in the fourth to cut the margin to one point at 117-116.

Williams had produced a career-high seven three-pointers in his 23-point haul, while Jayson Tatum was kept to 15 points on four-of-12 shooting with six assists in a quiet second half.

Boston guard Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 25 points, making four-of-nine from beyond the arc, with six assists.

The Celtics shot 22 three-pointers at 43.1 per cent, but the Jazz hauled down 56-40 rebounds and scored 17-of-22 from the free-throw line.

Boston, playing their third game in four nights, clinched their playoff spot despite the defeat, by virtue of the Miami Heat's 113-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Despite his cold night, Tatum (two) became the fourth Celtics' player to reach multiple 2,000-point seasons, alongside Larry Bird (four), Paul Pierce (four) and John Havlicek (two)

Embiid exceeds Iverson & Wilt franchise record

Joel Embiid became the first Philadelphia 76ers player to record nine straight 30-point games as they downed the Indiana Pacers 141-121.

Embiid scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field along with 10-of-13 from the free-throw line, plus seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.

The center has averaged 36.1 points per game during his nine-game 30-point run, exceeding Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain's previous joint record of eight.

Tyrese Maxey added 31 points with five triples while Tobias Harris contributed 24 points for the 76ers, who move into second in the Eastern Conference following Boston's loss.

Brunson leads Knicks past slumping Nuggets

Jalen Brunson made an impressive return from a foot injury with 24 points, including 16 in the first quarter, as the New York Knicks got past the Denver Nuggets 116-110.

The Knicks (42-30) rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit, with Brunson making two free throws with 43 seconds remaining, before lobbing to Mitchell Robinson to seal the win with 24 seconds left.

Nikola Jokic scored 24 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who have lost five of their past six games to fall to a 47-24 record.

The West's second-ranked Memphis Grizzlies closed the gap on the Nuggets with a 133-119 win over the Golden State Warriors, led by Jaren Jackson Jr's 31 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic prioritised his scoring to help the Denver Nuggets snap their four-game losing streak on Thursday.

Jokic posted a game-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and nine assists as his Nuggets came back from an early deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 119-100 on the road.

Denver trailed by six at half-time, but went on to outscore the Pistons 61-36 the rest of the way, and Jokic was leaving nothing to chance.

Between December 30 and March 10, Jokic had only one game where he made at least 14 field goals. He has now reached that figure in three of his past four outings, and over that span he has put up averages of 32.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists to try and shake the Nuggets out of their mini-slump.

A big reason for their recent dip in form has been the play of second-star Jamal Murray, who came into the contest after shooting 19-of-58 (32.8 per cent) over his past three. He was not at his scoring best against the Pistons, but he was a worthy contributor, chipping in 19 points (seven-of-15 shooting) with 10 assists and six rebounds.

On the other side, it was an eye-opening performance off the bench from rookie Jalen Duren, piling up 15 points (seven-of-10 shooting), 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his 27 minutes.

The victory improves Denver's Western Conference-leading record to 47-23, while the 16-55 Pistons own the league's worst record and the best odds at landing the number one draft pick.

Sabonis shines as Kings remain one of the league's hottest teams

Domantas Sabonis was the star of the show as his Sacramento Kings fought off the gritty Brooklyn Nets for a 101-96 road win.

No team in the NBA has a better record over their past 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and they were propelled Thursday by Sabonis' 24 points (eight-of-14 shooting), 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. In doing so, Sabonis broke Otis Thorpe's franchise record (1987-88 season) for the most rebounds in a single regular season (837).

Sacramento will be anxiously awaiting further news on starting wing Kevin Huerter after he left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, but they have plenty of wiggle room after taking sole possession of the West's second seed.

At 42-27, the Kings are 4.5 games behind the Nuggets, and 5.5 games clear of the play-in tournament placings.

Bucks defense goes missing in Pacers upset

One of the best defenses in the league had no answers for the Indiana Pacers as the Milwaukee Bucks fell in a surprising 139-123 upset.

The Bucks looked on course to add to their league-best 50 wins after piling on 40 points in the first quarter, but they undid all their good work by allowing the Pacers to score 84 in the second half.

Eight Pacers scored double-figures, led by Andrew Nembhard's 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while the highlight of the game came from Myles Turner's posterising dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee (50-20) sit two games clear atop the East, with the Boston Celtics (48-22) their closest competitor in the race for the league's best record.

James Harden was saluted for an "incredible" feat by coach Doc Rivers after becoming the first Philadelphia 76ers player to post 20 assists in a game twice in a season.

After scoring a personal season-high 38 points in the 147-143 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, Harden made his next game one to remember, too.

He was not so prolific in the points column against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, with a modest 14 to his name, but 20 assists and nine rebounds helped to guide the Sixers to a 147-143 victory.

It followed his 21-assist game against the Los Angeles Clippers in December. These are the only 20-plus rebound games in 33-year-old Harden's career to date.

Joel Embiid led scorers with 42 points, while Tyrese Maxey (24 points) and Jalen McDaniels (20) also weighed in.

Rivers said of Harden's effort, amid a strong team display: "It's just incredible. The great thing about James overall is he pretty much doesn't turn the ball over a lot, makes smart plays.

"But his passing when he plays like tonight and the other night – the other night he had 30 and 10, tonight he had 14 and 20 – it just makes us so hard to beat with his ability to pass."

Looking at some of Harden's most audacious passing, Rivers said few in the NBA possessed comparable quality.

"Those passes are five-guys-in-the-league, maybe, passes," Rivers said.

Harden joked about Maxey failing to secure him a 21st assist late in the game, as Philadelphia (42-22) consolidated third spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Seriously man, what are we doing? I'm just playing," Harden said.

"But I'm just trying to make plays. Not really efficient scoring the basketball tonight but find other ways to put an impact on the game. I saw some different things, made some good passes and had one turnover and that's because Joel couldn't catch the basketball.

"All in all, I'm just happy to come out with the win."

Quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Harden reflected on twice getting to 20 assists in games this season. He leads the league with an average of 10.8 assists per game.

"It's an unbelievable franchise, man," Harden said. "They got so many great players that have put on a 76ers jersey. To be added to the list is one of those feelings."

Going over 40 for the 11th time this season 

Joel Embiid finishes with 42 PTS in the @sixers win on the road! pic.twitter.com/UddGffAIc9

— NBA (@NBA) March 7, 2023