Tobias Harris scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 127-105 even though they were missing stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for contact tracing. With Harris leading a balanced attack, the Sixers had more than enough to get by without their two best players.
Dwight Howard scored a season-high 18 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz added 16 points, and Tony Bradley scored a season-high 14 on 7-for-7 shooting. The 6-foot-10 center also got this shoutout on Twitter from Embiid during the game: “That’s it!!! I’ve seen enough. Build around Tony Bradley @sixers”. Lauri Markkanen, back from a sprained right shoulder, led Chicago with 23 points.
— The MVP of last weekend’s NBA All-Star is off to a great start in the second half of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his fifth triple-double of the season to help the Milwaukee Bucks trounce the New York Knicks 134-101. Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes as the Bucks handed the Knicks their most one-sided loss of the season. The Bucks shot 57.5% against New York, which entered the night leading the NBA in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense. The Bucks have won seven of their last eight and now prepare to begin a three-game road swing.
— Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points in three quarters and the Los Angeles Clippers routed Golden State 130-104 Thursday night, sending the Warriors to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss. Paul George added 17 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who ended their own three-game skid to begin the second half of the season. Warriors guard Steph Curry was held to 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
— Kyrie Irving scored 40 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 121-109 victory over the Boston Celtics. James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which improved to 25-13 with its 12th win in 13 games. Landry Shamet added 18 points and fellow reserve Jeff Green finished with 11. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points but Boston had its four-game winning streak snapped.
— Devin Booker returned from the knee injury that kept him out of the All-Star Game to score 35 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-121 for their fifth straight victory. Chris Paul added 19 points for Phoenix. Second in the NBA behind the Utah Jazz, the Suns have won 14 of their last 16 games.
— Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and added 11 assists, Kelly Olynyk scored 20 and the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 111-103 to move over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Tyler Herro scored 17 points, Kendrick Nunn had 13 and Goran Dragic added 11 for the Heat, who pulled away in the final 6 minutes. All-Star Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped six straight.
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a 116-108 victory against a Dallas Mavericks team that rested Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Thunder made five of their first six 3-point attempts and built a 35-19 advantage after one quarter, then held off a late Dallas rally. Oklahoma City outrebounded Dallas 21-5 in the first period and finished the half making 10 of its 14 3-point attempts.
— P.J Washington had 20 points and nine rebounds, Terry Rozier hit some big shots down the stretch and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102 to get back to .500 for the first time since Jan. 13. Rozier and Gordon Hayward each scored 17 points and Cody Zeller chipped in with 15 points and a key rebound for Charlotte. Jerami Grant had 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting for the Pistons.
— The Timberwolves clobbered the Pelicans, 135-105 as Jaylen Nowell hit six 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 28 points. Top overall draft choice Anthony Edwards scored 27 points and the Wolves rallied from an early 16-point deficit. Rookie Jadden McDaniels hit his first four 3s and finished with a career-high 20 points for Minnesota, which won for just the eighth time this season — and second time against New Orleans.
— De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings sent the Houston Rockets to their 14th consecutive loss, 125-105. Buddy Hield added 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Sacramento, which had dropped 11 of 13 before the All-Star break. Victor Oladipo had 23 points and eight assists but couldn’t help Houston end its longest losing streak in nearly two decades.
— Tony Snell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Atlanta Hawks came back from a 15-point deficit in the final six minutes to beat the Toronto Raptors 121-120. Trae Young scored 37 points for the Hawks, who won their third straight. Norman Powell scored 33 points for Toronto and Chris Boucher had another big game off the bench with 29 points and nine rebounds.
