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Los Angeles, Thursday

Seth Curry and Joel Embiid led the way as a depleted Philadelphia 76ers handed the Chicago Bulls only their second defeat of the season on Wednesday.

The Sixers, missing unsettled star Ben Simmons as well as Danny Green and Tobias Harris out with a hamstring injury and Covid-19, respectively led almost from start to finish at the Wells Fargo Center to clinch a 103-98 victory.

Curry led the scorers for Philadelphia with 22 points while Embiid and Georges Niang both had 18 points as the Sixers improved to 6-2.

Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls scorers with 37 points while Zach Lavine had 27.

Only one other Bulls player Lonzo Ball with 13 points made double figures.

Elsewhere Wednesday, Nikola Jokic posted a game-high 34 points but it was not enough to stop the Denver Nuggets from falling to a 108-106 defeat to the in-form Memphis Grizzlies.

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Reigning NBA MVP Jokic had 11 rebounds with five assists while Will Barton added 26 points for Denver.

But the visitors were undone by another potent all-round offensive performance from Memphis who spread the scoring with six players in double digits.

The Grizzlies combined for 16 three-pointers throughout a hard-fought game which was only settled in the final seconds after Denver recovered from a 37-19 first quarter mauling. 

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 22 points while Ja Morant added 18. Desmond Bane and Kyle Anderson chipped in with 16 points each.

Memphis improved to 5-3 with the win while the Nuggets fell to 4-4. 

In New York, the Brooklyn Nets romped to a third straight victory with a 117-108 defeat of the Atlanta Hawks. 

Kevin Durant delivered 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists with support from Joe Harris (18 points), James Harden (16) and Patty Mills (14).

After just shading an even first half to lead 61-59 at the break, Brooklyn pulled clear in the third quarter, outscoring Atlanta 34-20 to take a grip on the contest.  -AFP