NBA roundup: Hawks eliminate 76 players in double-OT thriller, Embiid returns

PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers late in double overtime and finished with 41 points and 14 rebounds in a 142-134 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night in spoiling the Atlanta Hawks’ Joel Embiid return.

Embiid scored 18 points in 30 minutes in his return to action after missing nine games due to injury.

Johnson snapped a tie with his third 3 of the game and hit another on the next possession to send the Hawks to their fourth win in five games.

Tyrese Maxey scored 44 points for the 76ers and hit a pair of clutch shots, one that forced OT and another that gave them the lead late in the first overtime. Maxey, an 88 percent free-throw shooter, missed two from the line that could have extended the lead to four, but instead cost the Sixers in the final seconds of OT.

The 76ers’ Dominique Barlow was called for a foul with 1.1 seconds left. Nickeil Alexander-Walker made both to tie it at 126 and send it to the second OT.

Alexander-Walker had 34 points and eight rebounds.

SALT LAKE CITY — Kevin Durant scored 25 points in his return from a two-game absence, leading Houston to a win over Utah.

Alperen Sengün had 27 points to help the Rockets win their fifth straight. Steven Adams chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and Amin Thompson had nine assists.

Houston’s defensive pressure forced the Rockets to commit 17 turnovers and score 22 points off those takeaways. The Rockets outscored Utah 21-8 in fast break points.

Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 19 points. Laurie Markkanen added 18 points and eight rebounds. Yusuf Nurkic totaled 14 points, nine assists, and six boards.

The Rockets held Kevin George scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting. George also committed eight turnovers.

CELTICS 117, CAVALIERS 115

CLEVELAND – Peyton Pritchard scored a season-high 42 points, Jaylen Brown had his fourth career triple-double and Boston held on after giving up a big lead after barely beating Cleveland.

The Celtics led by 21 points in the third quarter and were still up by 11 with less than two minutes left before Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell made consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Cavs within 114-112 with 20.5 seconds left.

Pritchard, who made a huge layup downfield, then made two free throws to put Boston up 116-112 with 5.9 seconds left.

Cavs guard Darius Garland buried a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to go, and Cleveland fouled Brown on the ensuing inbounds pass after a timeout. Boston’s All-Star guard could only make a pair of free throws, giving the Cavs one last chance.

But Evan Mobley’s jumper at the final horn was short, allowing the Celtics to escape.

NEW YORK – Josh Hart had 20 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and eight rebounds and New York beat Toronto for its fourth straight win.

Jalen Brunson had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Michael Bridges and Myles McBride each had 14 points. The Knicks improved to 10-1 at home and 13-6 overall. They are perfect because Hart joined the starting lineup last week.

Emmanuel Coakley had 19 points and eight assists for Toronto against his former team, and Scotty Barnes added 18 points. The Raptors fell to 14-7, a night after their nine-game winning streak ended at Charlotte.

Timberwolves 125, Spurs 112

MINNEAPOLIS – Anthony Edwards scored 32 points to become Minnesota’s all-time leader in games with 30 or more points, Julius Randle added 22 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and the Timberwolves pulled away from San Antonio in the fourth quarter.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 18 points and Naz Reid added 15 for Minnesota, which went 2-0 at home on the weekend after losing three straight on the road. The Spurs fell to 5-2 without Victor Vembanayama, who missed another game with a strained left calf.

The Wolves outscored San Antonio 36-19 in the fourth quarter of the teams’ first matchup this season. On two separate occasions in the first four minutes of the final period, DiVincenzo and Reid made back-to-back 3s to help the Wolves catch the momentum.

De’Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. After being acquired in a seven-player, seven-pick trade involving San Antonio, Sacramento and Chicago in February, Fox entered Sunday second on the team in scoring behind Wambayama with 24 points per game.

Devin Wessel and Kelden Johnson added 22 points apiece for the Spurs, who went 2-2 on their four-game road trip.

Thunder 123, Trail Blazers 115

Portland, Ore. – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points, Chet Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Portland for its 12th straight win.

In his second game back from wrist surgery, Jalen Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

Deni Avdija finished with 31 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for Portland. Tomani Camara had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Jeremy Grant scored 18 points.

Taking a 76-74 lead, the Thunder were unsuccessful on Holmgren’s fourth foul with 5:00 left in the third quarter. He returned to start the fourth quarter but picked up his fifth foul. Portland cut the lead to 95-93 before Holmgren came back with 8:08 left.

That’s when the Thunder regained control. A layup by Kenrich Williams made it 102-93 with 6:53 left. Williams made it 105-96 on a 3-pointer just over a minute later.

Gilges-Alexander’s layup put Oklahoma City ahead 107-100 with 4:18 left.

Portland came back within two points, 107-105, with 2:58 left, but the Thunder, led by Gilges-Alexander, used their experience to close the game.