CHICAGO (AP) — Joel Embiid had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his return, Tyrese Maxey got his first career triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 108-100 on Sunday.
Maxey finished with 25 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. each scored 12 as the Sixers won for the fourth time in five games.
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 30 points, and Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each had 13 in the Bulls’ second straight loss.
Playing in just his fifth game this season, the 7-foot-0 Embiid started slowly, missing his first seven shots. Then, the two-time NBA scoring champion connected on eight of his next 10 in the second quarter for his first 19 points and powered the Sixers to a 62-50 halftime lead.
Embiid has missed the last seven games because of knee injuries and a three-game suspension for pushing a sports columnist.
Philadelphia opened a 19-point lead in third quarter before the Bulls narrowed it on a 13-1 run. Chicago closed to within four points twice in the fourth.
BUCKS 118, NETS 113
NEW YORK (AP) —Giannis Antetkounmpo had 34 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and Milwaukee snapped a two-game skid with a win over Brooklyn.
Damien Lillard had 15 points and 11 assists and Bobby Portis added 23 points and five rebounds off the bench. The Bucks won for the 10th time in 13 games.
Dennis Schroder had 34 points and 10 assists, Cam Johnson scored 26 points and Nic Claxton added 21 points and nine rebounds as the Nets lost for the fourth time in five games, falling to 4-13 against Eastern Conference foes.
HORNETS 113, PACERS 109
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brandon Miller hit two free throws in the final seconds and finished with 26 points as Charlotte snapped an eight-game losing streak with a win over Indiana.
Vasa Micic added 18 points and nine assists as Charlotte overcame 24 turnovers by shooting 51% from the field. Cody Martin finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Nick Richards had nine points and 14 rebounds.
T.J. McConnell scored a career-high 30 points and had six assists for the Pacers, who have lost five of their last six games. Jarace Walker added 15 points.
The banged-up Hornets prevailed without three of their top four scorers in LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Tre Mann, who average a combined 61.2 points.
NUGGETS 141, HAWKS 111
ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 48 points and Denver never trailed in their win over Atlanta.
The Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak that included Saturday night’s 122-113 loss at Washington, ending the Wizards’ 16-game losing streak. Jokic scored a career-high 56 points in the loss.
Jokic kept up his hot shooting against Atlanta and added 14 rebounds and eight assists. Michael Porter Jr. matched his season high with 26 points.
De’Andre Hunter led Atlanta with 20 points. Hunter was escorted to the locker room midway through the third quarter after he was hit on his head on a blocked shot by Aaron Gordon, who was not called for a foul, but returned
Dyson Daniels added 18 points and Trae Young had 15 points and 10 assists for the Hawks.
HEAT 122, CAVALIERS 113
MIAMI (AP) —Tyler Herro scored 34 points, Duncan Robinson had 23 and Miami stayed hot by beating Cleveland.
Jimmy Butler scored 18 and Bam Adebayo had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Miami. Terry Rozier added 14 for the Heat.
Darius Garland scored 23 for Cleveland, which fell to 21-4 — still matching the best 25-game start in team history. Georges Niang scored 15 for the Cavs, who lost Evan Mobley in the first half to a sprained ankle.
Donovan Mitchell was held to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting for Cleveland.
Both teams shot exactly 41 for 86 — 47.7% — in the game
MAGIC 115, SUNS 110
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Suggs scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday night and Orlando beat Phoenix to remain the NBA’s only team unbeaten at home this season.
Magic center Goga Bitadze had 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, including a game-clinching tip-in with 13.1 seconds left.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 25 points and seven assists. Tyus Jones added 21 points and Bradley Beal scored 18 before fouling out with 1:05 remaining.
Cole Anthony, who finished with 14 points, and Mo Wagner (10 points) sparked a comeback after the Magic had fallen behind by 12 points in the first quarter.
GRIZZLIES 140, WIZARDS 112
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 21 points, Scotty Pippen Jr. had 14 points and 12 assists and short-handed Memphis romped to a victory over Washington.
Santi Aldama added 19 for Memphis, which played without two-time All-Star Ja Morant (back soreness) and swing man Brandon Clarke (toe soreness) after both started in Saturday night’s win at Boston.
The Grizzlies shot 52.1% from the floor and 39.5% from 3-point range to win their third straight and ninth out of 10.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 23 minutes, and Marvin Bagley III also had 20 points for Washington.
One night after scoring 39 points against Denver to help Washington snap a 16-game skid, Jordan Poole had just nine on 2-of-6 shooting.
SPURS 121, PELICANS 116
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Chris Paul moved into second place on the NBA’s career assists list, Victor Wembanyama came back from an injury scare to score 25 points and San Antonio held on to beat New Orleans.
Paul had 10 assists, giving him 12,099 for his career and moving him past former Phoenix and Dallas star Jason Kidd (12,091).
Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio, which snapped a three-game skid.
Wembanyama left the game with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter when he clutched his lower back. He had missed the previous two games with lower back soreness. But he returned to Sunday’s game with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter.
Trey Murphy III scored 25 points and C.J. McCollum had 19 for the Pelicans. Dejounte Murray added 18 points and 11 assists and Yves Missi had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
WARRIORS 114, TIMBERWOLVES 106
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry sunk a 39-foot jumper from nearly halfcourt to beat the third-quarter buzzer and finished with 30 points and eight assists, leading Golden State past Minnesota Timberwolves in the teams’ second meeting over three days.
Curry found Jonathan Kuminga for a go-ahead dunk with 2:55 to play and hit Buddy Hield for a clutch 3-pointer at the 58-second mark.
Hield scored 27 points, including consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third that tied the game at 69 and another that put Golden State ahead. Hield had seven 3s and is one shy of becoming the 17th player in NBA history to reach 2,000.
Kuminga had 20 points and seven rebounds.
Anthony Edwards scored 27 points as Minnesota’s four-game winning streak ended.
ROCKETS 117, CLIPPERS 106
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Green scored 31 points, Amen Thompson added 22 and Houston defeated Los Angeles.
The Rockets ended a two-game skid without starter Fred VanVleet, who missed his first game of the season because of a right knee contusion.
Bones Hyland led the Clippers with 22 points off the bench, making a team-best five 3-pointers, and Ivica Zubac added 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr. had 19 points in his first career start for the team.
The Clippers lost their second straight at home after they suffered a 28-point drubbing at the hands of Minnesota on Wednesday. They kept it close in the first quarter before the Rockets took control.
KINGS 141, JAZZ 97
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Huerter had 26 points, including six 3-pointers, and Sacramento beat Utah.
The Kings, who have won three of their last four games, are an on offensive tear after scoring 140 points in Friday’s win over the Spurs.
The Jazz, who have lost six of their last seven, were led by Keyonte George with 25 points, and John Collins with 19.
Sacramento opened a 20-point lead in the second quarter and led 62-45 at halftime. The Kings continued dominating with a 43-point third quarter with De’Aaron Fox beating the third quarter buzzer to give the Kings a 31-point lead heading into the fourth.
Fox added 21 points and nine assists, and Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Doug McDermott hit six 3-pointers and had 18 points in the fourth quarter, igniting a “Doug-ie” chant from the Sacramento crowd.
LAKERS 107, TRAIL BLAZERS 98
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 30 points and had 11 rebounds, D’Angelo Russell added 28 points with 14 assists and Los Angeles beat Portland Trail without LeBron James.
With James missing his first game of the season because of a left foot contusion, Max Christie started his second game for the Lakers and scored four points with four rebounds.
Rui Hachimura scored 23 points for Los Angeles, which ended a three-game losing streak. The Lakers had dropped seven of their previous nine games.
Deandre Ayton scored 14 points with 19 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fourth consecutive game and have dropped six of their last seven. Shaedon Sharpe scored 19 points for Portland, which was coming off a 42-point loss to the Utah Jazz at home Friday.
The Associated Press
