Philadelphia’s James Harden passes the ball against Chicago’s Tristan Thompson in the first half Monday in Philadelphia. Matt Slocum/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid had 43 points and 14 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 121-106 Monday night in a showdown between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams headed in opposite directions.
James Harden added 16 points and 14 assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 17 points for the 76ers, who have won 6 of 7 and stayed perfect with Harden in the lineup.
Embiid, the league’s leading scorer, made 15 of 27 field goals and 12 of 16 free throws. The MVP front-runner scored at least 40 points for the 10th time this season while upping his season average to 29.7 points per contest.
Zach Lavine scored 24 points for the Bulls and DeMar DeRozan added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who have lost five in a row.
The Bulls have had trouble against the conference’s elite and dropped to 0-9 versus Miami, Philadelphia and Milwaukee – the three teams ahead of them in the standings. The 76ers ended the season series with Chicago with a four-game sweep.
The 76ers improved to 5-0 with Harden since the blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that sent Ben Simmons to the Nets in exchange for the 2017-18 MVP.
Harden sat out Philadelphia’s 99-82 loss at Miami on Saturday to rest his hamstring. He is averaging 24.6 points, 12.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds as a 76er.
Harden tied Reggie Miller for third on the career 3-pointers list, draining No. 2,560 with his patented step-back move, with 1:09 left in the first quarter.
HEAT 123, ROCKETS 106: Victor Oladipo scored 11 points in his first game in nearly a year, Tyler Herro scored 21 of his 31 points in the second quarter and Miami beat visiting Houston.
Oladipo, playing his first game since April 8 following a second surgery to repair a right quadriceps tendon, made an immediate impact. He took a charge on his first defensive possession, hitting the deck without any signs of problems, then took another later in the game and had a dunk near the end of his 15-minute stint.
PISTONS 113, HAWKS 100: Cade Cunningham had 28 points and 10 assists, lifting host Detroit to an OT win over Atlanta.
Jerami Grant scored 23 and reserve Marvin Bagley had 19 points for the Pistons, who have won a season-high three straight and six of their last eight games.
Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 points before fouling out late in regulation and Trae Young had 14 points and 12 assists.
TIMBERWOLVES 124, TRAIL BLAZERS 81: Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 13 rebounds as host Minnesota beat Portland by double digits for the second time in three days.
Malik Beasley added 19 points, and Naz Reid had 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota.
Towns’ effort came in less than three quarters, as he and most of Minnesota’s starters stayed on the bench in the fourth with the game well in hand. Towns joined the home crowd in doing the wave from the bench as the Timberwolves fans reveled in their team’s blowout victory. Wolves guard Patrick Beverley added to the fun by launching T-shirts into the crowd during the fourth quarter.
Monday’s game came two days after the Wolves beat Portland by 15 points at Target Center. Towns had 36 points in that win.
Minnesota matched its season-high win streak at five games.
NOTES
CAVALIERS: All-Star center Jarrett Allen will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his left middle finger in Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors.
Allen got hurt in the first quarter, when he also sustained a bruised quadriceps while driving to the basket. He went to the locker room, but the Cavs held on 104-96 to tighten their grip on the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference.
The team did not provide a timetable for Allen’s return.
LAKERS: Forward LeBron James did not play Monday against the San Antonio Spurs after experiencing soreness in his left knee following a 56-point effort against the Golden State Warriors.
James’ third-highest point total led the Lakers to a much-needed victory Saturday night, having lost four straight and seven of eight prior to James scoring a season high on 19-for-31 shooting.
James has missed 17 games this season due to various injuries, including abdomen and ankle ailments.
In his 19th season, James is averaging 29.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
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