PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and made big plays on both ends of the court late in the fourth quarter Friday night, Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Sacramento Kings, 123-114.

Tobias Harris and JJ Redick each added 19 points, and Ben Simmons contributed 18 for the 76ers, who won their third straight to pull even with idle Indiana for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker with the Pacers and is trying to maintain home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series, something Coach Brett Brown said before the game he coveted. Fifth-seeded Boston is two games behind the 76ers and Pacers.

Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox had 16 points apiece for Sacramento, which lost its third straight and seventh in the last nine to further hurt its playoff push. The Kings, who last made the postseason in 2006, entered ninth in the West, five games behind the Clippers.

With Philadelphia clinging to a four-point lead with three minutes remaining, Embiid blocked Willie Cauley-Stein’s layup attempt. Two possessions later, Embiid rejected Barnes’ close-range try before hitting a short jumper of his own to make it 121-114 with 1:45 remaining in the game.

The Kings were playing one night after a 126-120 loss at Boston, a game in which they had a 17-point first-half lead.

PISTONS 111, LAKERS 97: Andre Drummond had 19 points and 23 rebounds, and Detroit took advantage of LeBron James’ absence to win at home.

Advertisement

The Lakers, who have fallen well off the pace in the Western Conference playoff race, have been managing James’ minutes, and he sat out this game entirely. Los Angeles played at Toronto the previous night.

HORNETS 116, WIZARDS 110: Kemba Walker scored 28 points and Charlotte won at Washington in a matchup of teams chasing the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Jeremy Lamb added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Nicolas Batum and Tony Parker had 16 points apiece for Charlotte, which defeated Washington for the second time in eight days.

BUCKS 113, HEAT 98: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Milwaukee rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit to win at Miami.

Antetokounmpo also had 16 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks, who became the first team in NBA history to trail by at least 20 points at the half and win by more than 11. Khris Middleton scored 21 and Eric Bledsoe had 17 for the NBA-best Bucks, who improved to 52-17.

ROCKETS 108, SUNS 102: James Harden had 41 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Houston won at home.

The Rockets had trouble putting away the Suns, who have won just 16 games this season, and trailed for much of the night as they struggled from long range, making just 11 of 40 3-pointers.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.