PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Paul George scored 30 points, Tyrese Maxey had 29 and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-129 on Friday night to end a seven-game losing streak.
Cleveland lost its second straight to drop into a tie for the NBA lead with Oklahoma City at 36-8. Philadelphia is 16-27.
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points for Cleveland, and Ty Jerome had a career-high 33, making all eight of his 3-point tries.
Philadelphia star center Joel Embiid missed his 10th straight game because of a left knee injury. He also was ruled out by coach Nick Nurse at Chicago on Saturday night.
Jerome’s second straight 3-pointer put Cleveland up 116-110 with 6:17 remaining, but the 76ers ran off 13 consecutive points to go up seven. The Cavaliers had the ball with a chance to tie it, but Jerome turned it over on an inbounds play.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 points for the 76ers. Darius Garland had 26 for Cleveland.
TRAIL BLAZERS 102, HORNETS 97
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half, Jerami Grant added 22 points and Portland defeated Charlotte for their fourth straight win.
Deni Avdija had 18 points and Dononvan Clingan added 13 rebounds as the Blazers outscored the Hornets 29-22 in the fourth quarter.
Nick Smith Jr. had 17 points and Josh Okogie added 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hornets, who lacked scoring power without LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller.
The Hornets led 75-73 entering the fourth quarter, but the Blazers quickly took control. After Portland corralled two offensive rebounds on the same possession, Simons buried a 3 to give the Blazers the lead for good with 7 1/2 minutes to play, sparking a 7-0 run. The Blazers never trailed again.
The Hornets shot 7 of 22 in the fourth quarter.
GRIZZLIES 139, PELICANS 126
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 15 of his 29 points in the third quarter, Desmond Bane had 20 points and 14 assists and Memphis beat New Orleans.
Luke Kennard added 27 points, making 7 of 9 3-pointers and 10 of 14 overall shots from the field, to help Memphis win its fifth straight.
Dejounte Murray led the Pelicans with 26 points. Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum each had 22, and Jordan Hawkins added 20.
The Pelicans relied heavily on their backcourt for a 71-62 halftime lead, with Murray scoring 17 points and McCollum adding 15.
The game had the potential of highlighting the top two picks in the 2019 NBA draft — Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick for the Pelicans, and Ja Morant, picked second by the Grizzlies. However, neither was available with Williamson still ramping up conditioning, and Morant recovering from an illness.
The Associated Press
