Tyrese Maxey on Thursday scored 37 points and Joel Embiid added 29 to ignite the Philadelphia 76ers in a 109-105 victory against the Miami Heat and boost their NBA playoff chances.
Maxey added 11 assists and nine rebounds, just missing a triple double in 41 minutes on the court as the Sixers improved to 42-35, eighth in the Eastern Conference, but only a game behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth.
The top six in each conference take NBA playoff berths, while teams in positions seven to 10 face play-in games for the last two available spots.
Photo: AP
Maxey had missed the past two games for Philadelphia with a hip injury, but in his first game alongside Embiid in more than two months, the duo were dominating.
“I’m tired,” Maxey said. “Normally when you come back you get to play 32 minutes, but [coach Nick] Nurse asked me and I said: ‘I’m all good. I can play as much as you need me to.’”
Philadelphia, 2-0 since the return of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Embiid from a knee injury, fell out of the top six while the Cameroonian big man was injured, but hope to climb back into the top six in their final five games.
Miami, led by Terry Rozier’s 22 points, fell to 42-34, seventh in the East.
In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors stretched their win streak to six games with a 133-110 victory against the Houston Rockets, boosting their lead over the only team who can knock them out of a play-in spot.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 29 points to lead the Warriors, who led 65-50 at halftime and rolled in the second half.
The Rockets lost their 13th consecutive meeting with Golden State, a club they have not beaten since February 2020.
At 42-34, Golden State hold the 10th and final West play-in spot, while Houston slid to 38-38, four games behind the Warriors with six games remaining.
Elsewhere on Thursday, it was:
‧ Clippers 102, Nuggets 100
‧ Knicks 120, Kings 109
‧ Mavericks 109, Hawks 95
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS