NBA roundup: Embiid-led Sixers win third straight

[January 14, 2017]  The Sports Xchange

PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid had 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the surging Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets 102-93 on Friday night.

Dario Saric added 15 points for the Sixers, who won their third straight and their fifth in six games.

Ersan Ilyasova finished with 12 points and Robert Covington and Sergio Rodriguez contributed 11 apiece for Philadelphia (12-25).

Nic Batum had 19 points to pace Charlotte, which shot 32.9 percent from the floor in losing for the sixth time in seven games. The season low for the Hornets (20-20) is 32.7 percent.

Kemba Walker had 17 points and Cody Zeller chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 12 points and 12 boards.

Timberwolves 96, Thunder 86

MINNEAPOLIS -- Karl-Anthony Towns had his 10th straight double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Ricky Rubio continued his strong play with 14 points and 14 assists for Minnesota in a win against Oklahoma City.

Andrew Wiggins added 19 points for Minnesota, which won three games in a row to end a four-game homestand. Making another start in place of injured Zach LaVine, Brandon Rush hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points.

Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 19th triple-double of the season, the most in a season since Wilt Chamberlain had 31 in 1967-68. Enes Kanter added 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench as Oklahoma City had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Bucks 116, Heat 108

MILWAUKEE -- Playing at full strength for the first time in a week, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Milwaukee extended Miami's losing streak to four games with a victory at the Bradley Center.

A virus limited Antetokounmpo to nine minutes of action in Milwaukee's last two games, but he returned and hit 8 of 12 shots as the Bucks connected at a 50.6 percent clip and made 9 of 15 3-pointers.

Jabari Parker hit three 3-pointers and led the Bucks with 24 points. Tony Snell added 14 and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 13.

Raptors 132, Nets 113

TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points as Toronto defeated Brooklyn at Air Canada Centre.

DeRozan added four rebounds and two assists for Toronto, which shot 53.6 percent from the floor. Kyle Lowry chipped in 20 points, six assists and six rebounds while DeMarre Carroll added 18 points and 11 boards.

Raptors guard Cory Joseph went a perfect 7 for 7 from the field while adding 16 points and seven assists off the bench.

Grizzlies 110, Rockets 105

HOUSTON -- Zach Randolph posted a double-double off the bench and Memphis erased a 16-point deficit in rallying past Houston at Toyota Center.

Randolph finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and carried the Grizzlies offensively during a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Houston (31-11) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season largely due to their poor perimeter shooting. The Rockets missed 21 of 24 3-pointers in the second half.

Mike Conley had 17 points and nine assists for the Grizzlies (25-17), who also received 14 points, six rebounds and six assists from Marc Gasol and a season-high 22 points from Tony Allen before he fouled out with 3:35 to play.

Celtics 103, Hawks 101

ATLANTA -- Isaiah Thomas made sure that first-year Boston Celtics teammate Al Horford was a winner in his return to Atlanta, snapping the Hawks' seven-game winning streak in the process.

Thomas had the winning basket with 2.2 seconds left while scoring 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won despite the Hawks overcoming a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks tied the score on a 3-pointer by Paul Millsap with 25.6 seconds remaining, but the Celtics set up Thomas for the final shot and the diminutive guard penetrated into the lane to score in traffic.

The Celtics, who have won six of seven games, made 17 3-pointers and got a boost off the bench from Kelly Olynyk, who had a season-high 26 points.

Magic 115, Trail Blazers 109

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Orlando to a victory over Portland at Moda Center.

Elfrid Payton contributed 19 points and seven assists as the Magic snapped a four-game losing streak.

Damian Lillard collected 34 points and eight rebounds and CJ McCollum added 26 points for the Trail Blazers, who had won two in a row.

Jazz 110, Pistons 77

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rodney Hood scored a season-high 27 points, while going 7-of-8 from 3-point range, to help Utah run away from Detroit.

George Hill added 22 points and Gordon Hayward chipped in 20 to lead the Jazz. Hood, Hill and Hayward combined to shoot 26-of-39 (66.7 percent) from the field and 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from the perimeter.

Utah won for the third time in four games and snapped a two-game losing streak in the series with Detroit.

Cavaliers 120, Kings 108

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, Kyle Korver added 18 and Cleveland held off a series of runs by Sacramento to post a victory at the Golden 1 Center.

LeBron James had 16 points and 15 assists, and Cleveland snapped a two-game skid in his annual visit to the city where he made his debut in 2003.

James' teams have now won nine times in his 12 visits against the Kings.

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.