PHILADELPHIA — Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence.
Nurkic scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Kanter had 16 points and eight rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 130-115 on Saturday.
“It was an early game. Whoever wakes up first wins,” Nurkic joked of the 1 p.m. start.
The Sixers struggled in their second game without Embiid, the All-Star center who is expected to miss at least a week because of a sore left knee. Ben Simmons had 29 points and 10 assists, and Tobias Harris scored 20 points.
“They’re not the same team without Embiid, obviously, he’s a big part of what they do,” Portland Coach Terry Stotts said. “I thought we really played well defensively.”
The Blazers had a 53-33 rebounding edge, including 19 offensive boards. Damian Lillard scored 17 points as seven players reached double figures.
Without Embiid, the Sixers couldn’t keep up in a matchup between the fourth-place teams in each conference.
The Blazers (36-23) have won three in a row, including a 22-point victory over Golden State before the All-Star break. Philadelphia (38-22) is 4-4 this month.
PACERS 119, WIZARDS 112: Thaddeus Young scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 and Indiana held on at Washington.
PELICANS 128, LAKERS 115: Jrue Holiday hit five 3-pointers and scored 27 points while Anthony Davis watched from the bench, and New Orleans won at home.
NETS 117, HORNETS 115: D’Angelo Russell tied a career high with 40 points and made some huge shots down the stretch as Brooklyn won at Charlotte, North Carolina.
HAWKS 120, SUNS 112: Trae Young and Kent Bazemore each scored 23 points, Taurean Prince added 21 and Atlanta won at home to extend Phoenix’s franchise-worst losing streak to 17 games.
PISTONS 119, HEAT 96: Reserve Ish Smith scored 22 points, Langston Galloway added 15 points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and Detroit won at Miami to move into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
CAVALIERS 112, GRIZZLIES 107: Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points, Cedi Osman hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter and Cleveland won at home.
NOTES
ROCKETS: Houston star James Harden has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for criticizing the officiating.
Harden said he didn’t think official Scott Foster should be allowed to work any Rockets games.
Harden fouled out in Houston’s 111-106 loss to the Lakers at Los Angeles.
After the game, Harden criticized Foster and said he realized his words likely would result in a fine.
“Scott Foster, man. I never really talk about officiating or anything like that, but just rude and arrogant,” Harden said.
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