NBA: Trail Blazers hand 76ers a home loss

Jusuf Nurkic scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Portland Trail Blazers past the Philadelphia 76ers 130-115 on Saturday afternoon.

Damian Lillard added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the Trail Blazers won their third straight. Enes Kanter also had 16 points and eight rebounds as Portland won its second in a row away from home on a seven-game road trip.

Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds while Tobias Harris added 20 points.

JJ Redick struggled with just seven points on 1-of-10 shooting. Redick's streak of scoring in double figures in 64 straight games was snapped.

The Sixers played again without injured All-Star center Joel Embiid and guard/forward Furkan Korkmaz.

The Trail Blazers closed the first half on a 16-7 run to take a 59-56 lead into the locker room. Trailing by six late in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers continued to be aggressive on the offensive glass and it paid off.

Al-Farouq Aminu led Portland with 13 points in the half. Harris paced the Sixers with 13 on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Sixers committed only five turnovers but were able to muster just three offensive rebounds.

Maurice Harkless threw down a dunk off an alley-oop and Nurkic hit a baseline jumper to put the Trail Blazers ahead 76-62 with 7:07 remaining in the third.

Two free throws by Lillard put Portland up by 20 at 89-69 with 4:49 left in the third.

Simmons had a couple of late baskets, but the Sixers still trailed 100-82 after three quarters.

Nurkic continued to lead Portland, which dominated in virtually aspect through three quarters.

The game became quite chippy early in the fourth when Kanter and Simmons exchanged words and had to be separated by the officials. Simmons attempted to keep the Sixers somewhat close, but Portland kept coming up with huge shots.

Seth Curry's driving layup gave the Trail Blazers a 115-95 lead with 6:06 left.

It was more than enough of a cushion to hand the Sixers a rare home loss. The Sixers fell to 24-8 at home.

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NBA: Embiid's monster night carries 76ers to OT win

Joel Embiid had a season-high 42 points to go along with 18 rebounds and four blocked shots to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the visiting Charlotte Hornets 133-132 in overtime Friday night.

It was the eighth game for Embiid this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.

Ben Simmons racked up 22 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists, Dario Saric added 18 points and nine rebounds, while JJ Redick added 17 off the bench as the Sixers improved to 7-0 at home for the first time since 2002-03.

Kemba Walker scored 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Jeremy Lamb added 17. Dwayne Bacon also had 15 for the Hornets, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Simmons knocked down a pair of free throws and Saric followed with his fourth 3-pointer of the half for a 65-50 Philadelphia advantage heading into the locker room.

The Sixers led 100-91 three minutes into the fourth as Walker continued to struggle, missing 15 of his 17 shots. On Charlotte's next possession, however, Walker drilled a 3-pointer and the Sixers' lead was cut to 100-94.

Walker stayed hot and suddenly the Hornets trailed just 104-103 after a 15-foot jumper with 6:53 left.

Bacon came back with a jumper on Charlotte's next possession and the Hornets moved ahead 105-104 with 6:27 remaining.

After Embiid hit a pair of free throws, Walker proceeded to hit a triple from the top of the key for a 117-112 lead with 1:18 left.

Embiid scored the next five points, including a 3-pointer, to tie the game at 117 with 34.4 seconds remaining.

Walker responded with a tough driving layup as the Hornets went back in front 119-117.

Embiid knocked down two more free throws and the game ended up going to overtime.

Redick‘s jumper gave the Sixers a 127-124 lead in overtime with 2:22 remaining.

But Malik Monk got loose under the basket and converted a three-point play to tie the game again at 127 with 1:33 left.

Simmons' tough driving layup put the Sixers up 131-127.

He blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Walker on the baseline to preserve the win.

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Horford hauls Celts past Sixers in OT for 3-0 lead

Al Horford hit the game-winning layup with 5.5 seconds left in overtime as the visiting Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-98 Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The 76ers called timeout, after Horford's basket. On the ensuing inbounds play, Horford stole the pass by Ben Simmons and made two free throws. Marco Belinelli missed a desperation 3-pointer as time expired to seal the result.

"We're trying to find a way, and this group is playing hard every night," Horford told ESPN after the game, referring to the Celtics' deep playoff push without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

Boston won the first two games of the series at home, beating Philadelphia 117-101 in Game 1 and 108-103 in Game 2 on Thursday. The Celtics are 36-0 in franchise history when leading a playoff series 2-0.

No team has ever won a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-0.

Game 4 is Monday night in Philadelphia.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 24 points, Terry Rozier had 18 points, Jaylen Brown scored 16 and Horford finished with 13. Tatum became the first Celtics rookie ever to score 20 or more points five times in the postseason.

Joel Embiid had 22 points and 19 rebounds to pace the 76ers. JJ Redick scored 18, and Simmons had 16 with eight rebounds and eight assists after scoring only one point in the Game 2 defeat.

The Celtics snapped a six-game road losing streak dating back to March 28 against the Utah Jazz in the regular season, including all three games in their seven-game, first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Simmons' driving layup with 1:05 remaining in overtime put Philadelphia up 98-94. Tatum brought the Celtics within two on his layup with 55.4 seconds left.

Horford made one of two free throws with 42.5 seconds left to bring Boston within a point. Simmons missed a layup on the other end with 17.2 seconds remaining, and Boston's Marcus Morris came down with the rebound.

With the game tied at 85 entering the last minute of regulation, Belinelli was fouled and made two free throws to put the 76ers ahead by two with 41.2 ticks to play.

Brown tied it on a layup with 24 seconds left. He gave the Celtics an 89-87 lead after Rozier came up with a Redick turnover and fed Brown on a two-on-one break with 1.7 seconds to play.

Belinelli's turnaround corner jumper as time expired sent the game to OT. His foot was on the arc, so the shot merely tied the game instead of winning it. The confetti drop was accidentally triggered after Belinelli's jumper, leading to a lengthy delay to clear off the court before the start of overtime.

Philadelphia led 51-48 at halftime.

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Simmons leads Sixers past Wolves, 120-108

Rookie Ben Simmons recorded his 10th triple-double with 15 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers dominated the third quarter and defeated the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 120-108 on Saturday.

The 76ers won their sixth straight by outscoring Minnesota 39-19 in the third quarter. They shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the period while getting 13 assists and holding Minnesota to 15.8 percent (3-of-19).

Simmons had 10 points and five assists in the third as Philadelphia totaled 33 assists. It was the Sixers' 24th straight game with at least 20 assists, equaling the team record set during the 1992-93 season, and their 20th game this season with at least 30 assists.

Joel Embiid and Dario Saric added 19 and 18 points, respectively, as Philadelphia shot 47.7 percent and made 13 of 37 3-pointers (35.1 percent).

Reserve Marco Belinelli contributed 17 while Robert Covington chipped in 11 as Philadelphia (42-30) clinched its first winning season since 2004-05.

Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 16 points on a night when the Wolves shot 38.1 percent and were 6-of-23 from 3-point range. Karl-Anthony Towns posted his league-leading 61st double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds but was 3-of-15 from the floor.

Embiid missed his first four shots but Saric scored 11 points as the Sixers took a 32-24 lead going into the second quarter. Minnesota was within 47-42 on a fadeaway by Wiggins with 4:34 left. Philadelphia took a 13-point lead about three minutes later, but Jamal Crawford hit a 19-footer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 59-52 by halftime.

The Sixers opened the second half with a 15-2 run and grabbed a 74-54 lead when Simmons recorded his 10th assist on Covington's 3-pointer with 8:12 left. Philadelphia saw the lead reach 86-60 on a layup by Ilyasova with 4:34 remaining and took a 98-71 advantage into the fourth.

Minnesota was within 111-101 with about 2 1/2 minutes left after a basket by Gorgui Dieng. After Dieng blocked Ersan Ilyasova's layup, Simmons, Embiid, and Covington returned.

Minnesota forced the Sixers to seal it at the line by fouling Simmons, who made three foul shots down the stretch.

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Westbrook nets triple double for never-say-die Thunder

Russell Westbrook tallied 27 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a dramatic 119-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, capping a heart-pounding three overtime NBA contest.

Westbrook, an American, posted his 10th triple-double of the season and the 89th of his career on Friday night in front of 20,600 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center arena.

"This is what we live for," said Westbrook. "On the road, great environment, come out and get the win like this."

Westbrook shot 10-of-33 from the field and was one of two Thunder players to play more than 50 minutes. Westbrook played 52 minutes and center Steven Adams was on the court for 51 minutes.

"Never stop, never stop. I have been grinding my whole life. I was never given anything," said Westbrook, who grew up in south Los Angeles. "I don't care about percentages. All I care about is wins."

Paul George and Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points apiece for the Thunder, who improved to .500 at 14-14 with their third straight road win. It was also their 17th consecutive victory over the Sixers.

Raymond Felton had 14 for the Thunder, who shot 47 of 113.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 34 points while playing a career-high 48 minutes. J.J. Redick scored 19 points and Dario Saric added 16. Jerryd Bayless had 14 points and Ben Simmons scored 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Robert Covington returned after missing two games with a bruised lower back. However Covington struggled mightily, shooting a dismal four of 21 from the floor and finishing with 11 points.

Philadelphia attempted a season-high 46 three-pointers but only made 13 in their first triple-overtime game since 1992 against the Miami Heat.

Elsewhere, the Utah Jazz snapped a four-game losing skid with a 107-95 win over the first place Boston Celtics but the victory came at a cost. They lost two key players to injuries.

Utah's Rudy Gobert left the game in the first two minutes with a knee injury and Derrick Favors suffered a cut near his left eye that needed six stitches.

The win also ended a nine-game Boston Garden losing streak for the Jazz, who posted their first win there since 2008.

An 0-for-18 Boston shooting drought over more than 10 minutes in the second quarter allowed the Jazz to seize command of the game.

Ricky Rubio scored 22 points and added seven rebounds and five assists.

Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored eight straight points for his team late in the game, finishing with 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Former Celtic Jonas Jerebko scored a season-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Rodney Hood also scored 17 points while Joe Ingles had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz.

Kyrie Irving scored 33 points and had six assists and four rebounds for Boston.

Al Horford, who returned from a one-game absence with a sore knee, added 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds. They were the only two Celtics in double figures.

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Curry leads Warriors fightback after Sixers blitz

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry scored 35 points as the Golden State Warriors bounced back from a disastrous first half performance to overpower the Philadelphia 76ers 124-116 on Saturday.

Curry erupted in a one-sided third quarter for the Warriors after the Sixers had stunned the reigning NBA champions with an astonishing 47-point first quarter display at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.

The points haul was the most the Warriors have conceded in a single quarter since giving up 48 points in the fourth quarter of a game against Portland in November 1992.

The Sixers led 47-28 after the first period and extended their lead to 74-52 at the break, leaving the Warriors staring at a potential blowout loss.

However Steve Kerr's men came roaring back after half-time, and with Curry and Kevin Durant to the fore, put up their own 47-point quarter in the third.

Curry rattled in 20 points alone in the third quarter as the Warriors erased a 22-point Sixers lead and quickly accelerated clear of their rivals.

By the end of the third, the Warriors had raced into a 99-89 lead, a comfortable buffer they never looked like relinquishing throughout the fourth.

Curry finished with 35 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Durant weighed in with 27 points five rebounds and three assists.

"They played well in the first quarter so you've got to credit them," Curry said afterward. "

"Sometimes when you get down like that it's not all our fault. We helped them a little bit with some turnovers and easy three-pointers, which gave them momentum, especially at home.

"The second half, at the beginning of the third quarter we got some stops and that allowed our offense to take over. We executed better."

- 'They bullied us' -

Klay Thompson (17), Zaza Pachulia (10) and David West (14) also chipped in with double-figure tallies.

Warriors power forward Draymond Green praised the way his team responded to the early onslaught.

"They came out and punched us in the mouth but we were able to weather the storm," Green said.

"First half they bullied us. We gave no resistance, they got whatever they wanted. In the third quarter we made some stops, Steph got hot and we started playing like ourselves."

Ben Simmons led the scoring for the Sixers with 23 points while Joel Embiid had 21 points. Four other Sixers players -- Dario Saric, Robert Covington, J.J. Redick and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot made double figures. The Warriors improved to 12-4 with the win while the Sixers fell to 8-7.

Elsewhere Saturday, the Boston Celtics maintained their blistering form with a 15th straight victory, downing the Atlanta Hawks 110-99.

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and forward Jaylen Brown added 27 as the Celtics improved to 15-2 to head the Eastern Conference.

Boston's current winning streak is the fifth-longest in franchise history, putting them within sight of the club record of 19 set in 2008.

Irving went 10-for-12 from the field, including five three-pointers, with five assists and four rebounds.

Brown made four three-pointers, and had four rebounds.

The Houston Rockets meanwhile remained on top of the Western Conference standings at 13-4, one game ahead of the Warriors, after beating the Memphis Grizzlies 105-83.

James Harden led the Houston scoring with 29 points while four other Rockets players made double figures.

The Los Angeles Clippers were unable to break free of their form slump however, crashing to an eighth straight loss in their 102-87 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Kemba Walker had a game-high 26 points for Charlotte, with Dwight Howard adding 16 and Nicolas Batum 12.

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Kyrie Irving fined for NBA fan spat

Kyrie Irving is off to a rocky start with the Boston Celtics after the league slapped the point guard with a $25,000 fine on Sunday for verbally abusing a Philadelphia 76ers fan.

The exchange took place at halftime of the Celtics 102-92 win on Friday over the 76ers when a fan made a reference to Irving's former teammate LeBron James as the teams were heading to the locker rooms at the Wells Fargo Center arena.

"Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 for using inappropriate language when responding to a fan," league vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe said in a statement.

The Celtics aquired Irving in an offseason move after he demanded a trade from the NBA finals runner-up Cleveland Cavaliers.

It is the second time in as many days the NBA has fined one of its players for an incident with a fan. On Saturday VanDeWeghe announced that DeMarcus Cousins had been fined $25,000 after the New Orleans Pelican player got into a heated exchange with a female fan during a game in Memphis.

The fan in Philadelphia reportedly yelled "Kyrie, where's LeBron" as the Celtics walked past, drawing a response from Irving.

Irving admitted he yelled at the fan, which was caught on video, but when asked by ESPN.com if he had any regrets said, "Hell no".

Irving then talked about the exchange like it was a run in with another NBA player.

"At the end of the day, we're human. It's in the heat of the moment, and frustrations arises. We were at halftime, we were down by four, in an environment, a season opener in Philly," he said.

The Cavaliers' trade of Irving to the Celtics for guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, rookie centre Ante Zizic and two draft picks in August was one of the league's blockbuster deals of the offseason.

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Durant back as Warriors overpower 76ers

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant returned from injury with a bang on Monday, scoring 27 points as the Golden State Warriors overpowered the Philadelphia 76ers 119-108.

Durant, who missed the Warriors previous game with a bruised left hand, showed no sign of lingering after-effects to help power the Dubs to their fourth straight victory.

The Warriors, who are already assured of a place in the playoffs, improved to a league best 50-9 after rattling up their seventh win in eight games.

Klay Thompson added 21 points for Golden State while Zaza Pachulia scored a season best 16 points.

Draymond Green chipped in with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five steals.

But it was a rare off-night for Stephen Curry. The Warriors star contributed a respectable 19 points but drew a blank from three-point range, missing all 11 of his attempts.


It was only the third time in 211 games Curry has failed to connect with at least one three-pointer.

The Warriors eventually pulled clear against an under-powered Sixers team early in the fourth quarter, moving into a 99-87 lead.

The Sixers fought back however when Golden State's David West was called for a flagrant after a clash with Dario Saric.

Saric drained two free throws before Nik Stauskas scored to cut the Warriors lead to 99-91 with just under eight minutes left.

But that was the cue for a sustained scoring run by the Warriors, with West making three assists in quick succession to help Golden State into a 106-92 lead with just under six minutes to go.

It capped a day of disappointment for the Sixers who earlier revealed that rookie center Joel Embiid -- the team's top scorer and rebounder -- faced an indefinite layoff due to a knee injury.

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Cavaliers rally to beat 76ers

LOS ANGELES --LeBron James delivered his third triple-double of the season as the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to one of the best starts in franchise history with a 112-108 win over Philadelphia on Sunday.

James and Kevin Love powered the offence through three quarters before Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth for the defending champion Cavaliers who improved to 13-2 on the season.

Irving scored 20 of his 39 points in the final quarter, Love had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Cleveland rallied from an early 14-point deficit to win at 76ers' Wells Fargo Center.

"When you have great players, it can come from any of us at any given moment," said Irving. "When one of us gets it going, we always continue to go to that person. It can be anybody's night. We're always trusting each other.

"That fourth quarter was just for me to be aggressive."

James added 26 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for another triple-double and Tristan Thompson tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Cavaliers have the top record in the Eastern Conference and are off to their best 15-game start in team history.

"Whoever has the hot hand, we want to continue to get it to him," James said. "Kyrie understands what needs to be done in order for us to win. He showcased that today."

Joel Embiid had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Jahlil Okafor added 14 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, who lost to Cleveland for the eighth consecutive time.

Ersan Ilyasova and Gerald Henderson scored 13 points each, Sergio Rodriguez had 12, Nik Stauskas contributed 11 and Dario Saric added 10.

- 'Another level' -

"They can go to another level and they did," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "We all felt it and saw it. I feel that's the lesson we all learned since we've been together."

Philadelphia closed a five-game homestand at 2-3.

"I think we're getting better," Brown said. "I'm proud of their effort against the NBA champs."

DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 of his 37 points in the third quarter and the Sacramento Kings snapped a seven-game road losing streak to Brooklyn with a 122-105 win.

Cousins got off to a slow start by missing his first three shots and going zero of five in the second quarter when the Kings faced a nine-point deficit.

But the centre helped Sacramento seize command by shooting six of nine in the third.

Rudy Gay added 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Kings. Darren Collison contributed 18 points for Sacramento.

Sean Kilpatrick led the Nets with 22 points, but Brooklyn was outscored 34-18 in the third quarter and lost its seventh straight contest.

In Phoenix, Wilson Chandler scored 25 points and Jameer Nelson added 21 to help the Denver Nuggets outgun the Phoenix Suns 120-114.

Emmanuel Mudiay had 19 points and Kenneth Faried added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets.

The backcourt of Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker combined for 65 points for Phoenix.

P.J. Tucker added 21 points and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds, but the Suns had to play from behind the entire game.

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Barnes bomb breaks Sixers hearts as Warriors escape with win

Harrison Barnes dropped in a three-pointer with 0.2 left on the clock as the Golden State Warriors escaped with a 108-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a meeting of the NBA's best and worst teams on Saturday.

Guard Klay Thompson scored 32 points for the Warriors, defending league champions, who improved to 43-4. That matched the 1966-67 Sixers for the best 47-game start in league history.

The Warriors, who led by 24 points in the third quarter and 15 with 5:41 left in the game, saw the Sixers go on a 20-5 run that included seven points by guard Ish Smith.

Smith's steal and breakaway dunk with 22.3 seconds left tied the score at 105-105.

On the final Golden State possession, guard Stephen Curry fired a pass from the right wing to forward Draymond Green at the top of the circle. He found forward Barnes in the right corner from where he drilled his shot.

Curry finished with 23 points, while Green contributed 10 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Warriors. Barnes finished with 11 points.

Guard Isaiah Canaan scored 18 points off the bench for the Sixers (7-41), including a four-point play with 38.6 seconds left. Smith had 16 points and nine assists.

Thompson, who notched a season-high 45 points in a victory over Dallas on Wednesday, had 21 in Saturday's first half, staking the Warriors to a 73-54 lead.

Golden State were up 100-85 after Thompson dropped in a layup with 5:41 left in the game, before the Sixers mounted their comeback.

The Sixers moved to an early 17-10 lead behind guard Nik Stauskas, who scored seven points, but the Warriors reeled off 15 straight and never trailed again.

Thompson had eight of those points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Golden State, up 34-28 after a quarter, saw Philadelphia creep within three early in the second quarter on a long-range effort by guard/forward Hollis Thompson.

The Warriors, however, outscored the Sixers 35-19 the rest of the quarter to take a 73-54 halftime lead.

It was the most points the Sixers have allowed in a half this season. The Warriors' 65.3-percent shooting was also the best by a Philadelphia opponent in any half this season.

Thompson had eight of his 21 first-half points in the quarter, while Green had six of the 10 he scored in the first 24 minutes. Green also had 10 rebounds and six assists in the half.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

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