WASHINGTON (AP) — Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and had 13 rebounds to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 131-126 on Wednesday night.
Embiid reached 50 points for the sixth time in his career. He had a career-best 59 on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.
The reigning NBA MVP was 19 of 24 from the field, making a 3-pointer on two attempts, and hit 11 of 13 free throws. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and also had seven assists, and De’Anthony Melton had 18 points. Kyle Oubre returned after missing 11 games after being struck by a vehicle Nov. 11 in a hit-and-run incident in downtown Philadelphia. He had 12 points in 19 minutes.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. The Wizards are 3-17.
MAVERICKS 147, JAZZ 97
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists playing only three periods after the first first-half triple-double of his career in Dallas’ victory over Utah.
Doncic had his 60th career triple-double to move past Larry Bird for sole possession of ninth place on the career list. It was the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history.
It was the Mavericks’ highest-scoring game this season and two points short of their highest-scoring game ever in regulation. Dallas’ 52-point lead in the closing minutes was one point short of the franchise record set in November 2014 in a 123-70 win over Philadelphia.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas. Ochai Agbaji led Utah with 21 points.
CLIPPERS 111, NUGGETS 102
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 25 points and Los Angeles rallied to beat Denver and snap an eight-game skid against the defending NBA champion Nuggets.
Jamal Murray scored 23 points for Denver. Jokic had a triple-double with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
It was Denver’s first loss to the Clippers since Jan. 11, 2022. The Nuggets fell to 5-8 on the road after blowing a 15-point lead in the opening quarter.
WARRIORS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 106
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry overcame a slow start to score 31 points, Jonathan Kuminga dazzled off the bench for 13 points and the Golden State Warriors rallied to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-106 on Wednesday night.
Kuminga dunked on a pretty alley-oop from Draymond Green with 1:03 left and made all six of his field goals. Kuminga also stole the ball from Toumani Camara with 29 seconds to go and his team ahead 105-104, leading to a 3 by Curry.
Anfernee Simons scored 28 points to lead the Trail Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe added 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, but missed a free throw with 1:18 remaining.
The Warriors were just 10 for 34 from long range, five of those by Curry. His Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, was limited to 11 points on 3-for-13 shooting — including 1 of 8 on 3s. He missed a chance to tie it from behind the arc with 4:49 left but converted a key layup at the 1:59 mark.
GRIZZLIES 116, PISTONS 102
DETROIT (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 32 of his career-high 49 points in the second half and Memphis handed Detroit its 18th straight loss.
Detroit is 2-19, with the losing streak the longest in one season in franchise history and second-longest overall behind a 21-game slide at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81.
The streak is the longest in the NBA since Houston lost 20 straight in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold both NBA records, setting the single-season mark at 26 in a row in 2013-14 and the overall mark at 28 at the end of 2015-16 and start of 2016-17.
Bane was 19 of 31 from the field, hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers, and made seven free throws without a miss. He also had eight assists and six rebounds. His previous scoring high was 38 against Brooklyn on Oct. 24, 2022.
TIMBERWOLVES 102, SPURS 94
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 21 rebounds and NBA-leading Minnesota held on to beat San Antonio for its fifth straight victory and the Spurs’ 15th loss in a row.
Mike Conley added 18 points, Anthony Edwards had 17 and Naz Reid 15. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Minnesota improve to 16-4. Edwards returned after missing two games because of a right hip pointer, but went 4 of 17 from the field.
Gobert matched up often with good friend and French countryman Victor Wembanyama in the rookie’s first game in Minnesota. Wembanyama struggled against Minnesota’s height with Gobert, Towns and Reid, scoring just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He had 10 rebounds.
NETS 114, HAWKS 113
ATLANTA (AP) — Mikal Bridges hit the deciding fadeaway jumper with 4.5 seconds remaining and scored 32 points in Brooklyn's victory over Atlanta.
There were 43 lead changes and 11 ties, with Bridges hitting the decisive shot to give the Nets their fifth win in six games. Atlanta has lost four of five.
Trae Young had 30 points for Atlanta.
HEAT 112, RAPTORS 103
TORONTO (AP) — Caleb Martin had a season-high 24 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, Duncan Robinson scored 21 points and Miami beat Toronto.
Jimmy Butler scored 19 points, Orlando Robinson had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 15 points to help the Heat win for the second time in six games.
Pascal Siakam scored 30 points for Toronto.
ROCKETS 110, THUNDER 101
HOUSTON (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 23 points and Houston beat Oklahoma City to end a three-game losing streak.
Aaron Holiday scored a season-high 22 points off the bench and matched a career best with six 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds in 27 minutes.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
BULLS 111, HORNETS 110
CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points and Chicago beat short-handed Charlotte for its third straight victory following a five-game skid.
Nikola Vucevic had 20 and 11 rebounds for the Bulls and and Coby White added 19 points.
Gordon Hayward scored 27 points for Charlotte, and Terry Rozier had 25.
CAVALIERS 121, MAGIC 111
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points, Darius Garland added 26 and Cleveland overcame Paolo Banchero’s 42-point night to beat Orlando.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Banchero went 16 of 26 from the field for Orlando, which lost for just the second time in 11 games.
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