CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Joel Embiid had 38 points and 13 rebounds in just 29 minutes and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets 121-82 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory.
Embiid scored 12 points in each of the first two quarters before calling it an early night in a game the 76ers (47-22) led by 42 points in the second half. Embiid also had five assists and was once serenaded in each half with chants of “MVP! MVP!” by the many 76ers fans at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. James Harden had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia.
Terry Rozier scored 14 points for Charlotte.
HAWKS 127, WARRIORS 119
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young’s steal and layup with 45 seconds remaining protected Atlanta’s slim lead and the Hawks took advantage of Golden State’s continued poor perimeter defense on the road.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points in Golden State’s 10th consecutive road loss.
The Hawks led 123-119 before Young’s steal from Curry and layup stretched the advantage to six points. Young had 25 points with 12 assists.
John Collins had 22 points and Onyeka Okongwu added a season-high 19 as Atlanta snapped a two-game losing streak to remain eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
CAVALIERS 117, WIZARDS 94
CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland had 24 points and nine assists, Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and Cleveland never trailed against Washington.
Evan Mobley had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blockes for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland moved three games ahead of New York and 4 1/2 in front of Brooklyn in the battle for fourth place in the East and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Cavaliers’ next two games are in Brooklyn.
Bradley Beal scored 22 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards. Washington lost for the sixth time in eight games and fell into a tie with Indiana and Chicago for the final East play-in tournament spot.
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