76ers center Joel Embiid, right, goes up for a shot against Bulls center Nikola Vucevic during Philadelphia’s 119-108 win on Sunday in Chicago. Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press
CHICAGO — Joel Embiid dominated with 40 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame DeMar DeRozan’s season-high, 45-point game for Chicago to beat the Bulls 119-108 on Sunday.
The 76ers won the matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams after letting a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four.
They hung on down the stretch to beat the Bulls for the 10th straight time. They also knocked Chicago a half-game behind first-place Miami and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the idle Heat. With the 76ers’ victory, Miami clinched the best record in the East through Sunday, sending Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff to the All-Star Game in Cleveland to coach Team Durant.
Embiid simply did what he wanted, hitting 14 of 23 shots.
Tobias Harris added 23 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 16, helping the Sixers shake off losses against Washington and Dallas to win for the sixth time in eight games.
DeRozan finished seven points shy of his career high. The All-Star carried Chicago with Zach LaVine (back spasms) and guard Coby White (strained right adductor) missing their second consecutive games.
NUGGETS 124, NETS 104: Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Denver to a win over visiting Brooklyn, extending the Nets’ losing streak to eight games.
Jokic has 14 triple-doubles this season, which leads the NBA. He scored 23 points in the second and third quarters when Denver went from trailing by seven to leading by 21.
Will Barton had 21 points and Aaron Gordon had 17 points and nine rebounds in his return from a two-game absence. Seven Nuggets scored in double figures to help end a three-game skid.
TIMBERWOLVES 118, PISTONS 105: Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Minnesota got a big boost from its bench in a victory over Detroit in Minneapolis.
Michael Beasley had 20 points off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell returned with 22 points and eight assists after missing four games because of a left shin contusion.
Minnesota’s preferred starting lineup was back together for the first time in seven games with Russell’s return. But it was the work of the second unit that helped the Timberwolves overcome a sluggish start to the matinee affair. Minnesota won its fourth straight, pulling away late in the fourth.
Saddiq Bey scored 24 points for Detroit, which has lost eight of nine. Trey Lyles added 16, and Cory Joseph had 15.
MAVERICKS 103, HAWKS 94: Luka Doncic had a triple-double and Jalen Brunson scored 22 points despite both of them being in foul trouble, and Dallas won at home.
Doncic finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists after sitting almost the entire third quarter following his fifth foul less than a minute into the second half. Brunson joined him on the bench with his fifth about six minutes later.
But the Mavericks never lost the lead with a patchwork lineup that looked similar to when the team was battling COVID-19 issues earlier in the season. Once Doncic and Brunson returned in the fourth, the Mavericks put the game away for their 10th victory in 12 home games.
CAVALIERS 98, PACERS 85: Cedi Osman scored 22 points and Kevin Love had 19 as Cleveland rallied from 20 down to beat visiting Indiana.
Osman and Love combined to score the first 19 points in the fourth quarter, completing a 25-3 run that gave the Cavaliers an 80-68 lead. Osman finished with 18 in the period, while Love had nine points and drew two charging fouls on Pacers rookie Chris Duarte.
Jarrett Allen had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo added 15 points and a season-high 12 assists off the bench for Cleveland, which is one game behind East-leading Miami. The Cavaliers made their first eight 3-pointers in the fourth.
PELICANS 120, ROCKETS 107: Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and tied a career high with 12 assists as New Orleans used a big third quarter to take control of the game and get a win in Houston.
It was the third consecutive victory for New Orleans and Houston’s sixth loss in seven games.
Houston led by five at halftime but Ingram scored 17 points to power a 38-point third quarter by the Pelicans that gave them a 10-point lead entering the fourth and the Rockets didn’t lead again.
It’s the eighth time this season where Ingram has scored at least 30 points. Jaxson Hayes added 21 points for the Pelicans.
NOTES
TRADE: The Cavaliers have gone from surprising contenders to serious ones.
Pulling off a major move ahead of this week’s NBA trade deadline, Cleveland added another young star to its roster by agreeing in principle to acquire guard Caris LeVert in a deal from Indiana.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the proposed deal shortly before the teams played at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
“Cleveland just picked up a heck of a player,” Carlisle said.
The Cavs are sending Rubio, and his expiring $17.8 million contract, a lottery protected first-round draft pick in 2022 and two second-round picks to the Pacers for LeVert, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press.
Cleveland will also get a second-round pick in 2022, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams have not yet participated in the required conference call with the league for approval.
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