Tyrese Maxey pumped in 40 points and Paul George racked up 33 points as both sank six 3-pointers, leading the injury-ravaged Philadelphia 76ers past the host Charlotte Hornets 121-108 on Monday night.
Kelly Oubre Jr., a former Hornet, scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed nine rebounds as the 76ers won for the fifth time in seven games. Andre Drummond registered nine points and 15 rebounds.
The outcome dampened the excitement around the return to action of Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball, who racked up 15 points and 11 assists. The Hornets lost for the 10th time in 11 outings despite Miles Bridges’ 24 points, Nick Richards’ 19 points off the bench and Brandon Miller’s 12 points. Cody Martin and Josh Green both added 10 points.
Maxey drained six 3-point shots across the first three quarters, while George had five. The duo combined for 27 of Philadelphia’s 31 first-quarter points.
That helped the 76ers, who made 16 of 38 attempts from 3-point range on the night, withstand their first game after losing both center Joel Embiid (sinus fracture) and rookie guard Jared McCain (torn meniscus in knee) to injury on Friday.
Charlotte, which trailed by 21 points in the third quarter, threatened to pull off a big comeback but got no closer than four points with just less than seven minutes to play. Philadelphia responded with a 9-0 run, capped by a Maxey basket.
Ball hadn’t played since Nov. 27 because of a calf injury, and he didn’t come close to reaching the average of 31.1 points per game that he carried into the game. He logged 26 minutes, going 5-for-15 from the floor and hitting 3 of 8 from 3-point range.
The 76ers led 93-72 with two minutes left in the third quarter, but soon they were in a tussle.
After giving up 41 third-quarter points, the Hornets perked up. They scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to close within 95-89, with Green scoring eight of those.
The 76ers have won their last four road games, while the Hornets have dropped their past seven home games.
Pistons blow lead, still eke out OT win over Heat
Malik Beasley had a season-high 28 points, Cade Cunningham supplied a triple-double and the host Detroit Pistons topped the Miami Heat 125-124 in overtime on Monday night.
Cunningham had 20 points, 18 assists and 11 rebounds for Detroit, which squandered a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead. Ausar Thompson contributed 19 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. tossed in 16, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in overtime.
Jimmy Butler produced 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for the Heat, who had their four-game winning streak end. Tyler Herro scored 23 points, and Bam Adebayo added 15 points and eight boards.
The Pistons played without two starters — Tobias Harris was sidelined by a thumb injury, while Jaden Ivey was a late scratch due to left knee pain.
Adebayo converted an alley-oop for the first points of overtime, beginning an 8-0 run. Hardaway then erupted with three 3-pointers off Cunningham assists to give Detroit a 123-122 lead.
Butler’s putback was answered by a Cunningham layup. After a Herro miss, Detroit committed a turnover. Herro then missed a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer.
Detroit led by as much as 15 points in the first half despite committing 13 turnovers. The Pistons settled for a 63-59 halftime advantage as Beasley scored 13 points.
The Pistons came out flying after the break, scoring the first nine points of the half.
Detroit’s lead was 97-81 entering the fourth. When Cunningham knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:39 remaining, the Pistons were up by 19 again.
Miami scored the next six points. The Heat finally cut the Pistons’ lead to single digits with 2:52 remaining when Herro drained a 3-pointer off a Pistons turnover.
Rozier’s layup with 2:25 left after a Cunningham miss made it 112-106. Following a Pistons shot clock violation, Herro made another 3-pointer to cut Detroit’s lead to three.
Another empty Detroit possession led to a Butler layup with 1:10 remaining.
Cunningham made two free throws with 11.5 seconds left for a 114-111 Pistons lead. Herro then made a 3-pointer from the wing with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Bulls win by one, send Raptors to fifth straight defeat
Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points and the visiting Chicago Bulls held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 122-121 on Monday night.
Chicago led by 16 before seeing its lead melt to one point in the fourth quarter.
Coby White added 19 points for the Bulls, who have won two straight. Josh Giddey had 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists before leaving with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 12 points, and the Chicago bench got significant contributions from Talen Horton-Tucker (15 points), Jalen Smith (10) and Julian Phillips (10).
RJ Barrett scored 19 of his 32 points in the first half for the Raptors, who have lost five straight. Gradey Dick scored 27, Ochai Agbaji added 15, Chris Boucher chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Shead finished with 10 points.
Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl had six points and five rebounds before leaving early in the fourth quarter with a groin injury.
Chicago led 33-25 after the first quarter and 53-50 at halftime.
The Bulls opened the third quarter with a 10-3 surge. Toronto responded with six straight points. Chicago worked the lead back to 11 on Lonzo Ball’s 3-pointer with 6:18 to play in the third.
After a Toronto miss, Vucevic’s hook shot bumped the lead to 13 with 5:48 left. Giddey left with 4:49 left in the third with an injured right ankle. He was charged with a foul after sliding into Dick, who was attempting a 3-pointer.
The Bulls led 95-84 after three quarters.
Chicago opened the fourth quarter with five straight points. Toronto came back to cut the margin to six with 6:07 to play on Dick’s 3-pointer. Toronto trimmed the gap to one on Barrett’s hook shot with 2:28 left. White made a layup with 53 seconds remaining. After a Toronto miss, Ball hit a 3-pointer at 1:08 for a 119-113 lead.
Dick made a 3-pointer, but Vucevic’s hook shot pushed the lead to five with 14.4 seconds left. Shead hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to pull Toronto to within one.
Bulls leading scorer Zach LaVine (back spasms) did not play.
NBA-best Cavaliers jump out to huge lead, crush Nets
Evan Mobley scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, Caris LeVert scored all 19 of his points in the first half and the Cleveland Cavaliers seized control early and cruised to a 130-101 rout of the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
Cleveland led by as many as 37, improved to 23-4 for the best start in team history and is 8-4 since winning its first 15 games.
Donovan Mitchell contributed 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting and was the only starter to miss more than two shots from the field. Georges Niang contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, Jarrett Allen and Issac Okoro finished with 12 points apiece and Darius Garland chipped in 11 as the Cavs shot 53.1 percent, hit 19 3-pointers and reached 130 points for the seventh time this season.
Mobley was 6-of-7 shooting after the break and did most of his damage after Cleveland held a 72-40 halftime lead. The forward scored 10 points in the third to help the Cavs take a 104-77 lead into the fourth.
Coming off the bench, LeVert made his first five 3s to help the Cavs surge ahead in the first quarter. The former Net hit a pair of 3s in a span of 28 seconds during Cleveland’s 16-0 run, then made another trey in the final minute to help the Cavs take a 37-17 lead through the opening 12 minutes.
Cleveland scored 15 straight points midway through the second and LeVert hit two more 3s in the final 2:44 as the lead reached 72-40 by halftime.
After trading Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the Nets lost for the sixth time in seven games after winning three straight Nov. 24-27. Brooklyn also allowed at least 130 points for the second straight game and fourth time overall.
Cameron Johnson led the Nets with 22 points, Day’Ron Sharpe added 15 and Jalen Wilson contributed 13. Ben Simmons added 10 points and eight assists but also committed six of Brooklyn’s season-worst 22 turnovers, resulting in 34 Cleveland points.