Johnson’s 41 and clutch threes in double OT push Hawks past Embiid and the 76ers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers late in double overtime and finished with 41 points and 14 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks spoil Joel Embiid’s return in a 142-134 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.

Embiid scored 18 points in 30 minutes in his return for the 76ers after he missed nine games because of injuries.

Johnson snapped a tie with his third 3 of the game and hit another on the next possession to send the Hawks to their fourth win in five games.

Tyrese Maxey scored 44 points for the 76ers and hit a pair of clutch shots, one that forced OT and another that gave them the late lead in the first overtime. Maxey, an 88% free throw shooter, missed two from the line that could have stretched the lead to four, but instead cost the Sixers in the final seconds of OT.

The 76ers’ Dominck Barlow was whistled for a foul with 1.1 seconds left. Nickeil Alexander-Walker made both to tie it 126 and send it to the second OT.

Alexander-Walker had 34 points and eight rebounds.

ROCKETS 129, JAZZ 101

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 25 points in his return from a two-game absence, leading Houston to a victory over Utah.

Alperen Sengün had 27 points to help the Rockets win their fifth straight road victory. Steven Adams chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and Amen Thompson had nine assists.

Houston’s defensive pressure led to the Rockets forcing 17 turnovers and scoring 22 points off those takeaways. The Rockets outscored Utah 21-8 in fastbreak points.

Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 19 points. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and eight rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic totaled 14 points, nine assists, and six boards.

The Rockets held Keyonte George scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting. George also committed eight turnovers.

CELTICS 117, CAVALIERS 115

CLEVELAND (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 42 points, Jaylen Brown got his fourth career triple-double and Boston barely held on to beat Cleveland after giving up most of their big lead.

The Celtics led by 21 points in the third quarter and were still up by 11 with less than two minutes left before Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell made consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Cavs within 114-112 with 20.5 seconds left.

Pritchard, who made several big buckets down the stretch, then made two free throws to put Boston ahead 116-112 with 5.9 seconds remaining.

Cavs guard Darius Garland buried a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to go, and Cleveland fouled Brown on the ensuing inbounds pass following a timeout. Boston’s All-Star guard could only split a pair of free throws, giving the Cavs a final chance.

But Evan Mobley’s jumper was short at the final horn, allowing the Celtics to escape.

KNICKS 116, RAPTORS 94

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Hart had 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and eight rebounds and New York beat Toronto for their fourth straight victory.

Jalen Brunson had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride each scored 14 points. The Knicks improved to 10-1 at home and 13-6 overall. They are perfect since Hart joined the starting lineup last week.

Immanuel Quickley had 19 points and eight assists for Toronto against his former team, and Scottie Barnes added 18 points. The Raptors dropped to 14-7, a night after their nine-game winning streak ended at Charlotte.

TIMBERWOLVES 125, SPURS 112

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 32 points to became Minnesota’s all-time leader in games with 30 or more points, Julius Randle added 22 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and the Timberwolves pulled away from San Antonio in the fourth quarter.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 18 points and Naz Reid added 15 for Minnesota, which went 2-0 at home on the weekend after losing three straight on the road. The Spurs fell to 5-2 without Victor Wembanyama, who missed another game with a left calf strain.

The Wolves outscored San Antonio 36-19 in the fourth quarter of the teams’ first matchup this season. On two separate occasions in the first four minutes of the final period, DiVincenzo and Reid made back-to-back 3s to help the Wolves seize momentum.

De’Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. After being acquired in a seven-player, seven-pick trade involving San Antonio, Sacramento and Chicago in February, Fox entered Sunday second on the team in scoring behind Wembanyama with 24 points per game.

Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson added 22 points apiece for the Spurs, who went 2-2 on their four-game road trip.

THUNDER 123, TRAIL BLAZERS 115

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points, Chet Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Portland for their 12th straight victory.

In his second game back from wrist surgery, Jalen Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

Deni Avdija finished with 31 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for Portland. Toumani Camara had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Jerami Grant scored 18 points.

Holding a 76-74 lead, the Thunder unsuccessfully challenged Holmgren’s fourth foul with 5:00 left in the third quarter. He returned to start the fourth quarter but picked up his fifth foul. Portland cut the lead to 95-93 before Holmgren returned with 8:08 left.

That’s when the Thunder regained control. A layup by Kenrich Williams pushed the lead to 102-93 with 6:53 left. Williams made it 105-96 on a 3-pointer a little more than a minute later.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s fadeaway pushed Oklahoma City ahead 107-100 with 4:18 to go.

Portland got back within two points 107-105 with 2:58 left, but the Thunder led by Gilgeous-Alexander used their experience to close out the game.

LAKERS 133, PELICANS 121

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 34 points in the first quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers raced to their seventh straight victory, over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Doncic also had 12 rebounds and seven assists to help the Lakers win for the 13th time in 15 games. Austin Reaves added 33 points and eight assists, Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Rui Hachimura scored 14 points.

LeBron James sau out to rest a sore left foot. He made his season debut Nov. 18 and played in four games after recovering from sciatica.

Saddiq Bey had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Bryce McGowens added 23 points for the Pelicans. They have lost 11 of 12.

GRIZZLIES 115, KINGS 107

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Zach Edey had a career-high 32 points and 17 rebounds to help the Memphis Grizzlies hold off the Sacramento Kings.

Edey recorded his third double-double of the season in 29 minutes, shooting 16 of 20 from the floor. He scored six points in the final 3 1/2 minutes to lead the Grizzlies to their fourth straight road win.

Cam Spencer had 16 points, Jaylen Wells scored 15 and Jaren Jackson Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each had 13 points.

Playing without Ja Morant, the Grizzlies — who rallied from double-digit deficits in their previous two games — led much of the way and then had to hold off a late surge by the Kings.

Sacramento trailed by 13 in the third quarter before putting together a run to lead 87-83 going into the fourth quarter.