Los Angeles: Kevin Durant poured in 34 points and handed out 13 assists as the Brooklyn Nets rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-116 in the NBA on Tuesday.
Durant added nine rebounds and Bruce Brown chipped in 16 points in a clutch performance in place of absent Nets star Kyrie Irving. Brown’s jump shot, off a feed from Durant, knotted the score at 113-113 with 2:16 to play. He followed with a floater that put the Nets ahead for good.
In Philadelphia, the Miami Heat fielded the minimum eight players — with eight absent due to health and safety protocols.
Sixers center Joel Embiid scored 45 points with 16 rebounds and five steals in a 137-134 overtime triumph that snapped Philadelphia’s three-game skid. Embiid’s jump shot with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation tied it up at 120-120 and he scored the 76ers first nine points in overtime.
In Houston, LeBron James scored 26 points — and electrified his own Los Angeles Lakers bench with a nothing-but-net three-pointer — in the defending champions’ 117-100 thumping of the Rockets.
Anthony Davis scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds as the Lakers notched their second big win over the Rockets in three days — after a 120-102 triumph on Sunday.