Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, right, goes up for a shot over Detroit’s Nerlens Noel during the game Tuesday in Philadelphia. Matt Slocum/Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid rocked braids and had 36 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden added a second straight triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers routed the Detroit Pistons 147-116 on Tuesday night.
Harden finished with 16 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds
Embiid returned from a three-game absence with a sore left foot with a new look. But it was the same dominant performance out of last season’s NBA scoring champion. Embiid is chasing a second straight scoring crown – his 33.5 average entering the game was just a tick behind Dallas’ Luka Doncic’s 34.0 average – and he’s trying to pass Wilt Chamberlain (33.5; 1965-66) for highest season-scoring average in team history.
This game was never in doubt.
Two days after Harden also had a triple-double in the 76ers’ victory at Detroit, the Sixers raced to a 24-point lead in the first half. The Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers have done their part in putting Detroit there. The 76ers beat the Pistons 123-111 on Sunday.
RAPTORS 132, HORNETS 120: Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 and Toronto won at home.
O.G. Anunoby scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high with six 3-pointers as Toronto won its fourth straight home meeting with the Hornets and reached the midway point of the regular season at 18-23.
The Raptors made a season-high 20 3-points in 44 attempts.
Toronto won consecutive games for the sixth time this season. The Raptors have yet to win three in a row this season.
Toronto had 18 offensive rebounds to Charlotte’s six and outscored the Hornets 20-4 in second-chance points.
Terry Rozier scored 33 points and LaMelo Ball had 24 points and a season-high 14 assists, but the Hornets lost for the fifth time in six.
HEAT 112, THUNDER 111: Jimmy Butler’s three-point play with 12.9 seconds left capped an NBA-record performance by Miami and gave the Heat a victory over Oklahoma City in Miami.
Butler’s free throw made the Heat 40 for 40 from the foul line, breaking the 39-for-39 mark by Utah against Portland on Dec. 7, 1982.
Butler was 23 for 23 from the line, tying the second-most makes without a miss in NBA history. James Harden made 24 without a miss for Houston on Dec. 3, 2019, and Dirk Nowitzki made 24 without a miss for Dallas in a playoff game against the Thunder on May 17, 2011. Dominique Wilkins also went 23 for 23 in a game in 1992.
And Miami needed every bit of Butler’s perfection — along with everyone else’s.
Butler had 35 points for Miami, which had used only eight players and was down to seven when Dewayne Dedmon was ejected in the second quarter.
NOTES
RAPTORS: Forward Otto Porter Jr. has undergone surgery on his left foot and will miss the rest of the season.
Porter had been sidelined with a dislocated toe since November and appeared in only eight games with the Raptors this season.
Porter – the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Georgetown – averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in his first season with Toronto. He signed a two-year deal with the Raptors this past July and holds a $6.3 million player option for next season.
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