All-Star point guard Ja Morant is "week -to-week" after the Memphis Grizzlies confirmed he had sustained a Grade 1 left ankle sprain.

Morant had to be helped off the court in Friday's 121-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting tangled with Lu Dort in the fourth quarter.

The 23-year-old is averaging 28.6 points and 7.1 assists per game this season for the Grizzlies, who are already without Desmond Bane, who will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks due to a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe.

"After further evaluation, it was determined that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant suffered a Grade 1 sprain of his left ankle during the November 18 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder," the franchise announced on Saturday.

"Morant's return to play timeline will be week-to-week, and updates will be provided as appropriate."

The Grizzlies are scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, with Kyrie Irving potentially returning for the home side at Barclays Center.

Memphis are also due to play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Meanwhile, ESPN have reported that Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey will miss three to four weeks with a small fracture in his foot revealed by an MRI from Friday's 110-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo insists he "never tried to disrespect anyone" after pushing over a ladder at Wells Fargo Center following the Milwaukee Bucks' 110-102 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

The Greece-born star scored 25 points on the night, with 14 rebounds and four assists, but struggled from the free-throw line for a second-consecutive game.

Antetokounmpo could only sink four from 15 attempts on Friday, having managed the same amount from 11 in Wednesday's home defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In an attempt to get his form back, Antetokounmpo came back onto the court after the loss to Philadelphia to try and shoot 10 free-throws in a row.

After having the ball taken off him by Montrezl Harrell in a bizarre exchange, he got another ball from the locker room and returned, only to this time see a ladder in his way.

When arena workers refused to move it, Antetokounmpo shoved the ladder away, causing it to skid across the court and fall on its side.

Speaking to reporters later in the night, he explained: "I've never tried to disrespect anyone in any way, shape or form -. I feel like today is just an unfortunate event that took place.

"I went back out there to shoot and there was a ladder in front of me, and I said, 'Can you please move the ladder? And they said, 'No.' I said, 'Can you guys please move the ladder?' They said, 'No.' I was like, 'Guys, I have two more free throws, can you please move the ladder?' And they said, 'No.'

"I know what happened. I think there's cameras all over this court. We can show the whole incident from people coming and getting the ball, people getting in my face. I don't want to get into all those things.

"I don't know if I should apologise because I don't feel like I did anything wrong, except the ladder just fell.

"I feel like it's my right for me to work on my skills after a horrible night at the free throw line. I think anybody in my position that had a night like me would go out and work on his free throws.

"And if they didn't, they don't really care about their game."

The Miami Heat only had seven available players on Friday, and eventually ran out of steam in a gutsy 107-106 road loss against the Washington Wizards despite a heroic performance from Kyle Lowry.

Miami's top two players, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, were both absent along with a cast of their teammates after a quick succession of injuries, forcing their available players into extended minutes.

Lowry played 46 of a possible 48 minutes in regulation, but a late Kyle Kuzma three-pointer tied the game at 104-104 with 15 seconds left, forcing overtime.

With four of their five starters reaching the 40-minute mark in overtime, fatigue caught up with the visitors as they failed to hit a single field goal in the extra period.

Their only two points came from two Lowry free throws, capping his 24-point, 15-assist, 10-rebound triple double in 51 minutes of play.

Kristaps Porzingis scored the only basket of overtime, giving him 20 points and 17 rebounds, while Bradley Beal top-scored for the Wizards with 27 on nine-of-18 shooting.

The win for the Wizards moves them to 9-7, while the Heat fall to 7-9 as they desperately await healthy reinforcements.

Suggs delivers dagger in Magic win

Second-year point guard Jalen Suggs is beginning to fulfill the potential that saw him as a top-five pick in the 2021 draft, hitting the game-winning three-pointer in a 108-107 win against the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls received polarizing performances from their two star wings, with Zach Lavine struggling mightily on his way to one-of-14 shooting, while DeMar DeRozan stepped up with 41 points on 16-of-30 shooting.

DeRozan's big game had the Bulls up 103-107 with under 30 seconds remaining, but two made free throws for Suggs were followed by two misses by Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, giving the Magic a chance to steal it.

Suggs was determined to be the one taking the last shot, stepping back confidently for a three-pointer and nailing it to finish with 20 points (seven-of-16 shooting) and eight assists. It is the first time this season Suggs has posted back-to-back 20-point games, and he has at least six assists and five rebounds in each.

Embiid finishes Maxey's strong start against the Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers had a different star in each half of their 110-102 home win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Tyrese Maxey was the focal point early, putting up 24 points on nine-of-12 shooting, with five assists and four rebounds, before rolling his ankle in the shadows of halftime.

He did not return after the break, and Joel Embiid stepped up in his absence, scoring a game-high 32 points (12-of-26 shooting) with 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. It is the third game in a row Embiid has had at least 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey both were forced to leave their respective games early on Friday after rolling their left ankles.

Morant's injury came late in the fourth quarter of a 121-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, immediately needing to be helped off the floor. He finished the game with 19 points on five-of-20 shooting and 11 assists.

After the game, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said his star point guard "tweaked his ankle" and that there will be no update until scans on Saturday. It is the same ankle he rolled last week that forced him to miss one game, while co-star Desmond Bane remains out for multiple weeks with a toe sprain.

Earlier in the day, Maxey hurt himself late in what was arguably the best half of his young career.

The third-year guard played nearly the entire first half as starters Tobias Harris and James Harden both were absent with their own injuries, putting up 24 points (nine-of-12 shooting), five assists and four rebounds with only one turnover.

He did not return in the second half as his team went on to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks 110-102. The initial X-ray was negative, meaning there will be an MRI scheduled for Saturday to determine the damage.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has never seen anything like Joel Embiid's performance at both ends in Sunday's 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz.

Embiid scored a career-best 59 points, with a joint career-high seven blocks, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.

The Cameroonian scored 26 of Philadelphia's 27 final quarter points and more than half their total score, a feat not achieved in the NBA since Damian Lillard in 2019.

"I've seen a guy score a lot of points," Rivers told reporters. "I haven't seen guys score a lot of points, rebound, and then the blocked shots. That was impressive.

"He was just getting everything. I've never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense."

Embiid's teammates were left in awe too, with Matisse Thybulle labelling his stat line as "pretty ridiculous".

"It’s absurd. Actually, my friends were texting me after the game and they were like 'It's like a 2K stat line' and it's not one of those things you see in a real basketball game," Thybulle said.

"It's like when you pick one player on 2K and just do everything with him. It's pretty ridiculous if I'm being honest. It's amazing."

Embiid's 59 points is the best in the NBA this season, exceeding Darius Garland's mark of 51 set earlier on Sunday in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 129-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite his monstrous performance, Embiid played down the significance of his individual display.

"This is not about me. We did it as a team," the 28-year-old center said. "Obviously, the coaches put me in those positions, and obviously, my teammates fed me the ball. I thought we had great spacing around everything we were doing.

"Like I said, all the credit goes to my teammates just being in the right spots and trusting me and giving me the ball."

Embiid shot 19-of-28 from the field including making a three-pointer, which reinforced to him that it was going to be his game.

"When I finally made a three [I knew it was going to be a big game] because I’ve been shooting the ball so bad this year from three," he said.

"It was early in the game. I saw how they were guarding me. Just like last night, I'll take that every night. If they’re not gonna double team as much, I hope every team does it so I'll take it, but from the beginning... Obviously, in the fourth quarter with the game being so close, I just wanted to do whatever it took."

Joel Embiid flexed his muscles with arguably the best game of his career, with a season-best 59-point haul in the Philadelphia 76ers' 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Embiid was dominant in every facet, with his 59 points coming on 19-of-28 shooting, making 20-of-24 from the stripe, while having 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks.

The Sixers center is the first player since blocks became official in 1973-74, to record 50-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a game.

Embiid is also the first player since Damian Lillard in 2019 to have more than half of his team's points in a game.

The Cameroonian erupted in the fourth quarter with 26 points, taking him into fifth spot for the best scoring performances in franchise history. It was a career-best points haul for 28-year-old Embiid.

Tyrese Maxey was Philadelphia's next best with 18 points and four steals, with James Harden still out with a foot injury.

The Jazz had no answers to Embiid, who had scored 42 points on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, with Malik Beasley scoring 18 off the bench while Lauri Markkanen had 15 points with 10 rebounds.

Garland briefly holds season-high points haul

Darius Garland piled on 27 fourth-quarter points for a career-high 51 points, but he could not lift the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 129-124.

Garland's 51 points, which included 10 triples, was briefly a league season-high, before Embiid's monster game for the Sixers.

The Timberwolves led by 24 points late in the third before the Cavs rallied, led by Garland, who became the fourth Cleveland player to reach 50 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell added 30 points with 12 assists.

AD lifts Lakers without LeBron to snap skid

Anthony Davis stepped up in LeBron James' absence, scoring 37 points with 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their five-game losing run with a 116-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Davis shot 15-of-25 from the field, while bringing down 10 offensive rebounds among his 18 for the game, with Lonnie Walker adding 25 points, making four-of-five from beyond the arc.

Kevin Durant was a lone hand on offense for the Nets with Seth Curry, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving all absent. Durant scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry hit 27 points as the Golden State Warriors' winless road run (0-7) extended to 0-7 after being downed 122-115 by the Sacramento Kings.

Joel Embiid flexed his muscles with arguably the best game of his career, with a season-best 59-point haul in the Philadelphia 76ers' 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Embiid was dominant in every facet, with his 59 points coming on 19-of-28 shooting, making 20-of-24 from the stripe, while having 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks.

The Sixers center is the first player since blocks became official in 1973-74, to record 50-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a game.

Embiid is also the first player since Damian Lillard in 2019 to have more than half of his team's points in a game.

The Cameroonian erupted in the fourth quarter with 26 points, taking him into fifth spot for the best scoring performances in franchise history. It was a career-best points haul for 28-year-old Embiid.

Tyrese Maxey was Philadelphia's next best with 18 points and four steals, with James Harden still out with a foot injury.

The Jazz had no answers to Embiid, who had scored 42 points on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, with Malik Beasley scoring 18 off the bench while Lauri Markkanen had 15 points with 10 rebounds.

Garland briefly holds season-high points haul

Darius Garland piled on 27 fourth-quarter points for a career-high 51 points, but he could not lift the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, losing 129-124.

Garland's 51 points, which included 10 triples, was briefly a league season-high, before Embiid's monster game for the Sixers.

The Timberwolves led by 24 points late in the third before the Cavs rallied, led by Garland, who became the fourth Cleveland player to reach 50 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell added 30 points with 12 assists.

AD lifts Lakers without LeBron to snap skid

Anthony Davis stepped up in LeBron James' absence, scoring 37 points with 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their five-game losing run with a 116-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Davis shot 15-of-25 from the field, while bringing down 10 offensive rebounds among his 18 for the game, with Lonnie Walker adding 25 points, making four-of-five from beyond the arc.

Kevin Durant was a lone hand on offense for the Nets with Seth Curry, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving all absent. Durant scored 31 points with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry hit 27 points as the Golden State Warriors' winless road run (0-7) extended to 0-7 after being downed 122-115 by the Sacramento Kings.

The Brooklyn Nets secured their third win from their past four games led by Kevin Durant and Seth Curry as they pulled away late to secure a 110-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Durant top scored with 27 points along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, while Curry drained four three-pointers in his 22 points off the bench. Nic Claxton also had 13 points with 14 rebounds.

Curry scored 14 points with two assists in the fourth quarter as the Nets extended their four-point lead with a 35-24 final period.

The Nets, who confirmed the permanent appointment of Jacque Vaughn as head coach on Wednesday, were excellent defensively again, keeping their opposition below 100 points for the fifth straight game.

For the Clippers, who were still without Kawhi Leonard due to knee stiffness, Paul George scored 17 points with four rebounds and four assists, while Ivica Zubac added 16 points with 15 rebounds.

Nets guard Edmond Sumner (11 points, four assists and three steals) reached double-figure scoring for the third time in five games since stepping into the starting lineup in place of Kyrie Irving for a team-imposed suspension.

Irving's five-game minimum suspension has now ended but Vaughn confirmed he would not play in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The victory starts the Nets' four-game road trip in style, improving Brooklyn to 6-7 on the season, while the Clippers are 7-6.

Doncic responds after form dip

Luka Doncic responded to his drop-off in form with 42 points as part of a triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks won 117-112 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Doncic had started the season with an historic run of nine 30-point games, but that was halted in the past two games, both where he scored less than 30.

The Slovenian guard turned that around on 13-of-22 field shooting, also making 15-of-18 from the stripe, along with 13 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals.

Tatum and Embiid both score 40-plus

Jayson Tatum reached 40 points for the 13th time in his career, the third most in Boston Celtics history, as he scored 43 points in their 117-108 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Tatum finished with 43 points, including seven three-pointers, along with 10 rebounds and three assists. The Celtics small forward scored 28 of his points in a dominant first half.

Joel Embiid produced a season-best scoring return of 42 points as the Philadelphia 76ers triumphed 121-109 over the Atlanta Hawks after a brilliant first-half shooting display.

The trusty Atlanta Hawks duo of Trae Young and Clint Capela controlled the show in a 104-95 home win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

It was not Young's most efficient scoring performance, as he finished with an equal game-high 26 points on seven-of-21 shooting, hitting all 10 of his free throws.

However, Young's pick-and-roll combination with Capela proved nearly unstoppable, with the Swiss center converting seven-of-10 field goals for 18 points and a game-high 20 rebounds. 

Three of his seven field goals were alley-oop dunks off Young assists, and one was an offensive rebound off a Young miss as Capela's defender came over to help.

Of the Hawks' five starters, only Young and Capela finished with a positive plus/minus, meaning their most effective lineup was that duo with three bench players.

With James Harden out for at least the next couple of weeks, Joel Embiid was again asked to carry a massive offensive burden, and he struggled against Capela's defense.

While he finished with an efficient 26 points (nine-of-18 shooting) and 12 rebounds, he posted a season-high seven turnovers.

The Hawks are now 8-4, and have won four of their past five games, while the 76ers have lost three of their past four to sit at 5-7.

Butler ignites the Heat in overtime win

Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler flirted with a triple-double as he starred in a 117-112 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Playing a season-high 42 minutes as the Heat kept their rotation down to eight players, Butler eclipsed 30 points for the first time this season on his way to 35 on 11-of-19 shooting (13-of-15 free throws). He also added 10 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in a complete performance.

Five of his Heat teammates reached double figures, led by center Bam Adebayo with 18 points (six-of-15 shooting) and 14 rebounds to snap their third two-game losing streak of the young season, moving to 5-7.

Doncic struggles in Mavericks loss

After starting the season with nine consecutive 30-point performances, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic had his second tough outing in a row as his side lost 113-105 to the Washington Wizards.

Doncic shot just nine-of-29 in Wednesday's loss to the Orlando Magic, and followed it on Thursday by shooting eight-of-21 for his 22 points, although he added nine rebounds and six assists.

With both Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis missing for the Wizards through injury, it was Kyle Kuzma stepping up with 36 points (14-of-26 shooting), 11 rebounds and six assists.

James Harden faces a month on the sidelines after the Philadelphia 76ers star suffered a tendon strain in his right foot, according to reports.

The 33-year-old point guard played for 35 minutes in the 121-111 defeat to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, scoring 24 points and adding 10 assists and five rebounds.

However, according to ESPN, he will miss a long stretch now, with the injury detected during the Wizards game and confirmed in tests on Thursday.

Harden joined Philadelphia in February from the Brooklyn Nets in a multi-player trade and this season he has averaged 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds through nine games.

The Sixers are 4-5 for the campaign so far.

Harden is a 10-time All-Star and was named MVP in the 2017-18 NBA season.

With Harden on board for the closing games of the 2021-22 campaign, the Sixers reached the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the playoffs, where they were beaten 4-2 in the best-of-seven series by the Miami Heat.

Big performances from Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez carried the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-108 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

With their win, the Bucks are now 6-0, and the NBA's last remaining unbeaten team.

Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo led the way with a game-high 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting, and he delivered in an important stretch of the game.

After the Bucks came out of halftime with a 60-52 lead, the Pistons got on a quick run, cutting the margin to one at 62-61, before Antetokounmpo scored his team's first 10 points of the third quarter to steady the ship.

He was supported well by Holiday, who scored 25 points with an efficient long-range shooting performance, finishing seven-of-15 from the field while hitting five of his 11 three-point attempts. He also added 10 assists and seven rebounds

Meanwhile, Lopez was a force in the middle of the paint, scoring 26 points (10-of-16) with nine rebounds and two blocks.

For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham was excellent with 27 points (11-of-23), seven assists and six rebounds, while the fifth overall pick from this year's NBA Draft, Jaden Ivey, had seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to make it a game down the stretch.

Harden narrowly misses career-high 

James Harden was one assist shy of his career-high as he dished out 17 in the Philadelphia 76ers' 118-111 win over the Washington Wizards.

His 17 assists matched his regular-season high, becoming the 10th time he has reached that figure, while he had 18 assists in a playoff game for the Brooklyn Nets against the Boston Celtics in the first round of 2021.

Against the Wizards, Harden also added 23 points (eight-of-17 shooting) and seven rebounds, with Tyrese Maxey finishing as their top-scorer with 28 on 12-of-22 shooting.

Washington's Kristaps Porzingis was the game's highest scorer with 32 points (10-of-17), nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Durant and the Nets get back in the win column

The Brooklyn Nets snapped a four-game losing streak when they defeated the Indiana Pacers 116-109.

Superstar duo Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving led the way as Ben Simmons missed the game with swelling in his knee.

Durant finished with a game-high 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting, while adding nine rebounds and seven assists. Irving was not far behind, posting 28 points (nine-of-19) with six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Second-year wing Chris Duarte was impressive for the Pacers, scoring 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, hitting five-of-10 from long range.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been stripped of a pair of second-round draft picks for holding conversations with free-agent players prior to the NBA's allotted time period, the league announced Monday.

Philadelphia will forfeit their second-round selections in the 2023 and 2024 drafts after being found to have engaged in early discussions with forwards P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., both of whom later signed with the team.

The NBA said in a statement that the 76ers fully cooperated with the investigation.

Tucker, a 12-year veteran and defensive specialist, signed a three-year, $33million contract in July, a move made possible by star guard James Harden declining a $47m player option and re-signing with the 76ers at a lower salary to create cap flexibility.

House, a reserve averaging 2.7 points per game this season, was signed to a two-year deal worth around $8.4m.

Philadelphia are the fourth team in the past two years to lose second-round picks for a violation in player negotiation rules. The Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls were previously hit with similar penalties.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points with 11 rebounds in his annual homecoming that ended in an overtime defeat for the Golden State Warriors, losing 120-113 to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Golden State had led by four points in the final minute of regulation, before P.J. Washington hit a jumper, followed by a Dennis Smith Jr layup to tie the game.

Curry missed a tough three-point attempt to win the game at the end of regulation time, and airballed another shot in overtime. The Warriors point guard finished with three-of-13 from beyond the arc, making 10-of-22 from the field.

The Hornets, who were without LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, were rampant in overtime, with Washington finishing the game with 31 points and Jalen McDaniels draining a crucial triple. Gordon Hayward made a strong contribution with 23 points and four assists.

Golden State shot at 29.5 per cent from three-point range, with Klay Thompson battling on one-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc in his 11 points.

Jordan Poole made four-of-11 attempts in his 24 points off the bench for the Warriors, who are 0-2 on the road this season and 3-3 overall.

Clutch Embiid lifts 76ers to back-to-back wins

Joel Embiid scored 25 points but none were better than his tiebreaking three-point shot as the Philadelphia 76ers made it back-to-back wins with a 114-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Embiid drained his wide-open three-point shot to put the 76ers up 112-109 with 18.1 seconds remaining in the game as Philadelphia improved to 3-4 after their 1-4 start to the season.

The 76ers center had seven rebounds and four assists, while James Harden contributed 15 points on two-of-13 field shooting with 11 assists, while Tyrese Maxey scored 14 points after posting a career-high 44 on Friday.

Nets woes worsen with Pacers shock

The Brooklyn Nets' defensive woes continued as they fell to a fourth straight loss, going down 125-116 to the Indiana Pacers for whom rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored a career-high 32 points.

The Nets conceded another big score, averaging 124.5 points against during their four-game losing skid, with Kevin Durant contributing 26 points with five rebounds and four blocks.

Kyrie Irving, who has come under fire for appearing to show support to an antisemitic film this week, responded on the court with 35 points including five triples with six assists.

With Joel Embiid out of the line-up for the Philadelphia 76ers' trip to take on the Toronto Raptors, it was third-year guard Tyrese Maxey rising to the challenge to set a new career-high points total in the 112-90 win.

Maxey, who prior to Friday had only ever scored more than 33 points once – a 39-point effort against the Denver Nuggets as a rookie – set a new personal-best with 44 points against the Raptors.

He was incredibly efficient, hitting 15-of-20 from the field and nine-of-12 from three-point range, while also leading the 76ers with eight rebounds and chipping in four assists.

Former league MVP James Harden was happy to cede the responsibility to his less-experienced running-mate, finishing with just 11 points, four rebounds and four assists as he assumed a supporting role.

It was also a breakout performance for De'Anthony Melton, who was given his first start in a 76ers uniform after being acquired in the offseason and made his presence felt defensively, snatching five steals to go with his 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Speaking to the media after the game, Maxey said his big night was simply the product of the offense running smoothly.

"It was [about] getting good looks," he said. "We got to the paint, sprayed off for threes, got in transition, and once you get stops, the game becomes way easier honestly, for not just myself, but for all of us.

"We were getting to the paint and driving and kicking, creating, generating offense for everybody. That’s why I got open threes, why [Melton] got open threes, Tobias [Harris] got open threes. 

"I just know how good we can be, I know how talented we are, but we’ve got to match our talent with the energy that we play with, and defensive tenacity.

"Tonight we knew it was going to be extremely hard without Joel. That made guys step up, that made guys do things they don’t normally do."

Teammate Matisse Thybulle was thrilled to see Maxey shine, but he said it was no surprise.

"Every time he gets an opportunity, he does something big with it," he said. "You could even take it back to the COVID games we were looking at our bench, like who’s gonna be the one to step up? 

"Tyrese Maxey did – and it’s like, time after time – Tyrese is the one that steps up, shows up big and he does it, obviously, as an individual, but for the team, and we all benefit from it."

Head coach Doc Rivers also enjoyed the show, and he pointed to it as an indicator of how well the 76ers adjusted without their star center.

"I just think he’s a heck of a basketball player," he said. "We came into the game knowing Joel wasn’t gonna play… we talked to [the rest of the team] this morning about trying to find matchups and then spacing the floor and attacking.

"They are a great help-defensive team and they can’t stop it. Us getting into the paint sucked everybody in, and that’s where we got shots. I thought we were ready for that and I thought we did a good job."

After starting the season with three consecutive losses, the 76ers have now won two of their past three to take a 2-4 record into their road trip against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo went up a gear in the second half while Steve Nash was ejected for the first time as a head coach as the Milwaukee Bucks downed the Brooklyn Nets 110-99 on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo scored 34 of his 43 points in the second half – 28 of those coming in the paint - as the Bucks put the foot down with a 67-44 after half-time at Fiserv Forum. 

The Greek forward backed up his 44 points against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, meaning his 87 points in their past two games is the most across a two-game span in his 10-year NBA career.

The Nets were leading 70-66 in the third quarter when Nash was ejected after being incensed by a non-call from the officials after Antetokounmpo bumped into Patty Mills.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field with six rebounds and five turnovers, while Kyrie Irving added 27 points for the Nets who led by as much as 12 points.

Ben Simmons battled again with four points on two-of-seven field shooting with none-of-two from the stripe, along with four personal fouls. Simmons has nine field goals and 18 personal fouls in four games this season.

The Bucks shot at 56 per cent from the field in the second half, with Antetokounmpo supported well by Bobby Portis with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

LeBron's Lakers' winless start drags on

LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers slumped to an 0-4 start after Nikola Jokic put in a dominant display to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 110-99 victory.

Jokic scored 31 points with 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Nugs, who were far better defensively. The Serbian led both teams outright in points, rebounds and assists for the 85th time in his career, which is the most by a center in NBA history.

James, who fell to an 0-4 start for the second time of his career and first since his 2003-04 rookie season, managed 19 points with seven rebounds and nine assists, while Anthony Davis had 22 points with 14 rebounds. Russell Westbrook was out injured.

The Lakers' NBA-worst three-point struggles continued, albeit with a slightly improved eight-of-30 (27 per cent) from beyond the arc.

Sixers' struggles continue as Trent Jr sparkles

The Philadelphia 76ers' early season struggles continued too, going down 119-109 to the Toronto Raptors, leaving them with a 1-4 record.

The Sixers' record is their fifth 1-4 or worse start through five games. Philadelphia were 1-4 in 2017-18 yet made the playoffs, but missed out on the other three occasions when they were 0-3.

Joel Embiid scored 31 points with five rebounds and Tyrese Maxey impressed with 31 points including four three-pointers. Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr bettered him with five triples, scoring 27 points, while Pascal Siakam added 20 points and 13 assists.