76ers win again

LOS ANGELES - Joel Embiid had 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the surging Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets 102-93 Friday. Dario Saric added 15 points for the Sixers, who won their third straight and their fifth in six games. Ersan Ilyasova finished with 12 points and Robert Covington and Sergio Rodriguez contributed 11 apiece for Philadelphia (12-25). Nic Batum had 19 points to pace Charlotte, which shot 32.9 percent from the floor in losing for the sixth time in seven games. The season low for the Hornets (20-20) is 32.7 percent. Kemba Walker had 17 points and Cody Zeller chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 12 points and 12 boards. Timberwolves 96, Thunder 86: Karl-Anthony Towns had his 10th straight double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Ricky Rubio continued his strong play with 14 points and 14 assists for Minnesota in a win against Oklahoma City. Andrew Wiggins added 19 points for Minnesota, which won three games in a row to end a four-game homestand. Making another start in place of injured Zach LaVine, Brandon Rush hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points. Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 19th triple-double of the season, the most in a season since Wilt Chamberlain had 31 in 1967-68. Bucks 116, Heat 108: Playing at full strength for the first time in a week, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Milwaukee extended Miami’s losing streak to four games with a victory at the Bradley Center. A virus limited Antetokounmpo to nine minutes of action in Milwaukee’s last two games, but he returned and hit 8-of-12 shots as the Bucks connected at a 50.6 percent clip and made 9-of-15 three-pointers. Raptors 132, Nets 113: DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points as Toronto defeated Brooklyn at Air Canada Centre. DeRozan added four rebounds and two assists for Toronto, which shot 53.6 percent from the floor. Kyle Lowry chipped in with 20 points, six assists and six rebounds while DeMarre Carroll added 18 points and 11 boards. Grizzlies 110, Rockets 105: Zach Randolph posted a double-double off the bench and Memphis erased a 16-point deficit in rallying past Houston at Toyota Center. Randolph finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and carried the Grizzlies offensively during a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Houston (31-11) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season largely due to their poor perimeter shooting. The Rockets missed 21-of-24 three-pointers in the second half. Celtics 103, Hawks 101: Isaiah Thomas made sure that first-year Boston Celtics team mate Al Horford was a winner in his return to Atlanta, snapping the Hawks’ seven-game winning streak in the process. Thomas had the winning basket with 2.2 seconds left while scoring 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won despite the Hawks overcoming a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. In other games it was: Magic 115, Trail Blazers 109; Jazz 110, Pistons 77; Cavaliers 120, Kings 108. - Agencies