Prior to his injury, Embiid had not played since January 30 due to surgery on his left meniscus. He was leading the league in scoring at 35.3 points per game, with 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
FILE PHOTO: Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers autographs a ball after a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Joel Embiid scored 24 points in his comeback, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 109-105 on Tuesday.
Embiid had surgery on his left meniscus on January 30 and had not played since then. Embiid was leading the league in scoring before to his injury, averaging 35.3 points per game to go along with 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
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Embiid had a 12-for-12 shooting performance on Tuesday in addition to seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals. In the fourth quarter, when Philadelphia outscored the Thunder 36-25, he scored ten of his points.
For the Thunder, it was just their third defeat in ten games. With 22 points, Chet Holmgren led the Thunder, followed by Aaron Wiggins with 15 and Luguentz Dort with 15. With 12 assists, Jaylin Williams recorded a career-high.
Lakers 128, Raptors 111
LeBron James scored 23 points and nine assists, and visiting Los Angeles upset Toronto with a game-high 25 points from D’Angelo Russell and seven assists from James.
With six games remaining on their road trip, the Lakers are 4-1 with 21 points and 12 rebounds from Anthony Davis. For the seventh time in eight games, Los Angeles triumphed behind 14 points from Rui Hachimura. Off the bench, Max Christie scored 12 points.
For the Raptors, it was their fourteenth straight defeat. Toronto was led by RJ Barrett, who scored 28 points. Immanuel Fast added twenty more points. Gradey Dick and Kelly Olynyk each had 14 points.
Nuggets 110, Spurs 105
With 42 points and 16 rebounds from Nikola Jokic and 23 points from Aaron Gordon, host Denver defeated San Antonio to reclaim the top spot in the West Conference.
With 13,978 points, Jokic moved up to third place on Denver’s all-time scoring chart, surpassing Carmelo Anthony. Jokic also had six assists. With a career-high 16 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. scored 15 points. In the West, Denver surpassed Oklahoma City.
Tre Jones recorded his third career triple-double for San Antonio with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Victor Wembanyama finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocked shots, and eight assists. With 24 points, Malaki Branham led the Spurs.
Warriors 104, Mavericks 100
With 23 points, Andrew Wiggins led a balanced assault, Draymond Green made clutch plays late in the contest, and Golden State defeated Dallas in San Francisco to end their seven-game winning streak.
The Warriors are trying to lock up a postseason berth, and they have won five straight games. For the Warriors, Chris Paul and Klay Thompson each finished with 14 points, Stephen Curry with 13, Moses Moody with 12 and Draymond Green with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four steals, and his crucial block.
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For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double while setting new records for points (30), rebounds (12), and assists (11). Kyrie Irving, the team’s sidekick, scored 27 points, P.J. Washington contributed 20, and Daniel Gafford finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Heat 109, Knicks 99
Terry Rozier scored 34 points and made eight 3-pointers to help Miami hold off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by going to New York.
With 34.7 seconds remaining, Rozier made a crucial 3-pointer, and Haywood Highsmith finished off a Knicks miss with a slam to cap off a 17-7 run that ended the game. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Highsmith contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, while Bam Adebayo ended with 15 points and nine rebounds.
With a team-high 31 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks. Jalen Brunson contributed 20 points, 10 assists, and five turnovers, while Miles McBride scored 24 points on 9 of 16 shots. With 16 points off the bench, Bojan Bogdanovic helped the Knicks suffer their third straight setback.
Wizards 117, Bucks 113
Deni Avdija scored 23 points and Corey Kispert scored 27 to help Washington defeat visiting Milwaukee.
Jordan Poole also contributed 16 points and a game-high 13 assists for Washington. Tristan Vukcevic scored 14 points, while Jared Butler contributed 17 more.
For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had his tenth triple-double of the year with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. Bobby Portis scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while Khris Middleton scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The game was missed by Bucks standout Damian Lillard due to a right groin ailment.
Timberwolves 113, Rockets 106
In Minneapolis, Minnesota defeated Houston, with Naz Reid scoring 25 points on 10 of 17 shots.
For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards scored 21 more points. The Timberwolves became the team with the second-most victories in a single season in franchise history with their 52nd victory, breaking a tie with the Kevin Garnett-led squad of 2002–03. With 58 victories, Garnett’s team from 2003–04 still owns the franchise record.
Leading Houston with 26 points was Jalen Green. For the Rockets, who have dropped their last two games after winning their previous 11, Fred VanVleet ended with 22 points and Jabari Smith Jr. in the paint with 18.
Cavaliers 129, Jazz 113
Jarrett Allen had 13 of his 21 points during a 40-point first quarter, Caris LeVert led a balanced attack with 26 points and Cleveland ran off from Utah in Salt Lake City.
Evan Mobley also totaled 21 points and Sam Merrill enjoyed a homecoming with 18 as the Cavaliers overcame the absence of Donovan Mitchell (left knee injury management).
Brice Sensabaugh tied a season high with 22 points and Collin Sexton chipped in 19 to pace the Jazz, who lost their 10th straight.
Kings 109, Clippers 95
In a game that was vital to Sacramento’s postseason standing in the Western Conference, Domantas Sabonis extended his NBA record of consecutive double-doubles with 22 points and 20 rebounds. Additionally, a strong third quarter helped the team defeat visiting Los Angeles.
Sabonis recorded his 10th career 20-point, 20-rebound double-double and was just one assist away from his 27th triple-double of the season. The Kings moved into a tie with idle Phoenix for seventh place in the Western Conference thanks to their dominance of the inside against a Clippers club missing Kawhi Leonard due to knee pain.
Sacramento’s offensive effort was balanced thanks to the 20 points and seven assists from De’Aaron Fox. Los Angeles was paced by Russell Westbrook’s 20 points off the bench. Paul George scored 18 points after that.
