PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jaylon Tyson scored a career-high 39 points, Evan Mobley’s dunk with 4.8 seconds left was the winner and the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers completed a two-game sweep of the 76ers in Philadelphia with a 117-115 victory on Friday night.
Donovan Mitchell added 13 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers defeated the 76ers 133-107 on Wednesday.
Joel Embiid scored 33 points and Tyrese Maxey had 22 points, nine assists and five steals for the 76ers.
Cleveland was without Darius Garland (right big toe soreness) and Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), who were both injured on Wednesday. Coach Kenny Atkinson said both will be reevaluated when the team returns to Cleveland this weekend.
The 76ers looked in control when Paul George hit a jumper with 8:47 remaining for an 11-point lead. But the Cavaliers used a 13-2 run, capped by De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer with 5:53 left, to tie it at 102. Philadelphia moved ahead by seven points after turnovers by the Cavs on three straight possessions, but Cleveland hung around.
Hunter’s layup with just over a minute left put the Cavs up a point. After Mobley made one of two free throws with 22.7 seconds remaining, Maxey tied it on a runner with 8.1 seconds left. After a timeout, Tyson set up Mobley near the basket for an easy dunk to put Cleveland in front by two. Maxey’s shot from just beyond half court that could have won the game went long.
PACERS 127, PELICANS 119
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Center Jay Huff had a career-best 29 points and nine rebounds and led five players in double figures as Indiana beat New Orleans.
The 7-foot-1 Huff, who entered Friday averaging 8.4 points, shot 13 for 17 from the field and 3 for 6 from 3-point distance. The center’s previous high was 22 points, achieved last year while with the Memphis Grizzlies in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Huff was acquired by Indiana in a trade with Memphis during the offseason.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half, and Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who won for the fourth time in five games. Aaron Nesmith and Quenton Jackson scored 12 points apiece as Indiana closed out a 3-1 homestand and improved to 8-16 at home.
Zion Williamson led New Orleans with 27 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 shooting from the line. Williamson was 8 for 8 from the field in the first half, when he scored 21 points.
Trey Murphy III scored 22 points, Saddiq Bey added 20, Jeremiah Fears finished with 16, Derik Queen had 14 and Jordan Poole 11 for the Pelicans, who are 3-16 in road games. Queen also had 12 rebounds.
NETS 112, BULLS 109
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. made a go-ahead layup with 5.4 seconds remaining after Brooklyn had blown a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, and the Nets beat Chicago.
Porter scored 26 points and Noah Clowney had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Day’Ron Sharpe scored 14 points and rookie Danny Wolf had 13.
Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points and Ayo Dosunmu had 18 for the Bulls in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Coach Jordi Fernandez thought the Nets could’ve won all three games on their just-completed road trip, but it appeared they wouldn’t need to worry about another close finish after a 15-0 run in the second quarter helped them take a 17-point halftime lead, their second-largest of the season.
Cam Thomas’ 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter made it 92-72 before the Bulls scored the next 11 points. Thomas hit another 3 to stop that surge, and the Nets still led by six with under a minute remaining.
The Bulls then scored seven straight points to go ahead 109-108 on Tre Jones’ layup with 11.4 seconds remaining. The Nets ran a play to get Porter the ball near the basket, and he put the Nets back on top. Rookie Drake Powell then stole Chicago’s pass in from the sideline and Clowney’s two free throws made it 112-109 before Vucevic missed a rushed 3-pointer.
CLIPPERS 121, RAPTORS 117, OT
TORONTO (AP) — James Harden had 31 points and 10 assists, Jordan Miller scored 19 points and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to five games by beating Toronto.
Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Cam Christie scored 16 points and Kris Dunn had 15 as the Clippers won for the 12th time in 14 games since starting the season 6-21.
Toronto’s Scottie Barnes scored 24 points and Brandon Ingram had 19.
The Clippers are 7-14 on the road. They’ve won four of their past five away from home.
Kawhi Leonard missed his team’s lone regular-season visit to Toronto because of a sprained right ankle. Leonard won the 2019 NBA championship with the Raptors.
The Raptors lost for the second time in 21 games when leading after three quarters.
Toronto led 109-101 with 3:35 remaining in regulation, but missed six straight shots as Harden forced overtime with a personal 8-0 run. Harden made four straight free throws to begin OT.
Harden shot 10 for 27 and finished 2 for 15 from 3-point range. He went 9 for 10 at the free throw line.
The Associated Press