PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored six of his 36 points in overtime, Joel Embiid had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Houston Rockets, 128-122, on Thursday (Friday in Manila).
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 26 points for the 76ers, who evened their home record at 12-12. Paul George returned to the lineup for Philadelphia after missing two straight games due to left knee injury management and had 10 points.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points for the Rockets, who had won three in a row. Amen Thompson added 17 for Houston.
The 76ers scored the first five points of the extra session, on George’s 3-pointer and VJ Edgecombe’s follow from close range after he grabbed an offensive rebound, to take control.
Philadelphia had a chance to win it in regulation, but Durant blocked Maxey’s driving layup attempt with 13.2 seconds left. Maxey added 10 assists.
The 76ers opened up a 94-88 lead early in the fourth quarter, but it took 3:23 for Philadelphia to score another point. Reed Sheppard’s third 3-pointer of the quarter put Houston up, 105-96, with 6:25 remaining. The 76ers tied it twice late in regulation, the last on Maxey’s layup with 40.1 seconds left.
Aaron Holiday (back spasms) was downgraded from questionable to out for the Rockets. Houston also was without center Steven Adams (left ankle sprain).
Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving, who led the 76ers to the 1983 NBA title, was in attendance.
Nuggets 107, Wizards 97
In Washington, Peyton Watson scored a career-high 35 points to lead the short-handed Denver Nuggets over the Washington Wizards.
Jamal Murray added 24 points for the Nuggets, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points in his return after missing 11 games with a strained calf. Aaron Gordon also scored 16 points.
Nikola Jokic missed his 13th consecutive game for Denver with a hyperextended left knee.
Kyshawn George scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Washington, which lost its eighth in a row. Tre Johnson added 19 points for the Wizards, who dropped 14 consecutive games from late October to early December.
Washington shot a season-worst 38.1 percent (32 of 84) to sink to 10-33, one game ahead of last-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference.
The Wizards never never led after halftime, but pulled into an 83-all tie after Alex Sarr’s free throw early in the fourth quarter.
Denver responded with a 9-0 run, with Watson making a 3-pointer and another jumper during the stretch. He later surpassed his previous season and career best of 32 points with a free throw with 1:50 remaining after overcoming an awkward fall during a contested dunk attempt.
Mavs 123, Warriors 115
In Dallas, Naji Marshall tied his season highs with 30 points and nine assists, and the Dallas Mavericks beat Golden State, winning a season-best fourth consecutive game while dropping the Warriors to 0-2 since Jimmy Butler’s season-ending knee injury.
Stephen Curry scored 38 points and was 8 of 15 from 3-point range on the night the Warriors’ superstar became the first in NBA history to attempt 10,000 shots from beyond the arc. He’s now 4,222 of 10,007 from deep.
Cooper Flagg scored 21 points in 30 minutes when Dallas’ rookie No. 1 pick was supposed to be limited to 20-25 minutes in his second game back since missing a pair with a sprained left ankle.
Max Christie also had 21 points, and Brandon Williams scored 19 off the bench as six Mavericks finished in double figures. Klay Thompson wasn’t one of them, hitting two first-half 3-pointers for six points against his former team.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 10 points in 9 minutes before leaving with left knee soreness in the first half. He landed awkwardly on the knee while dribbling the length of the court.
It was Kuminga’s second game after sitting for a month while falling completely out of coach Steve Kerr’s rotation. Butler’s ACL tear in his right knee created an opening for Kuminga to return.