WASHINGTON — Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points with 10 assists, and the Philadelphia 76ers stormed back with Joel Embiid on the bench, beating the Washington Wizards 139-134 in overtime on Tuesday night to remain unbeaten.
Embiid scored 25 points in a season-high 23:02, but with the 76ers managing his minutes, it was Adem Bona who turned the game around late. He blocked four shots in the fourth quarter and another in OT as Philadelphia rallied from a 16-point deficit after three to improve to 4-0.
Alex Sarr scored 31 points for the Wizards, who had 110 points in the first three quarters then only 16 in the fourth. When Khris Middleton missed from the left elbow in the final seconds for Washington, the game went to overtime tied at 126.
The Wizards then scored the first five points of overtime before conceding a 9-0 run, including a follow dunk by Bona with 27.6 seconds left that gave the 76ers the lead. A three-pointer by Kyshawn George made it 135-134 with 7 seconds remaining, but after Maxey made two free throws, Middleton forced a pass into heavy traffic that was intercepted.
Washington had eight players in double figures by the end of the third quarter before collapsing.
The Wizards led 72-68 at halftime and went on a quick 14-3 run at the start of the third quarter. They led by as many as 19.
MIAMI — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half to keep up his hot-shooting start to the season, and the high-scoring Miami beat Charlotte.
Bam Adebayo had 26 points and Canadian Andrew Wiggins added 21 for the Heat, who won their third straight game after losing the season opener to Orlando. They played without leading scorer Norman Powell, who had 29 points in the win over New York on Sunday and was scratched because of a groin injury he felt during the morning shootaround.
Jaquez led the Heat to a 58-33 advantage in bench points, going 9 for 14 from the floor while posting a plus-43 rating. The third-year guard, drafted with the 18th pick by the Heat in 2023, is shooting 69 per cent through four games (31 for 45). The Heat, who were just 24th in the NBA last season in scoring, are averaging 132 points.
Pelle Larsson started in place of Powell and pitched in 17 points and five rebounds for the Heat, who closed the first half on an 11-0 run over the final 3:13 to take a 76-60 lead. After the Hornets pulled within three, the Heat used a 23-7 surge that stretched into the fourth quarter to retake control.
LaMelo Ball, who had a triple-double for the Hornets in the previous game in a win over Washington, had 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and rookie Kon Knueppel added 19 points. The Hornets played for the second straight game without starting forward Brandon Miller, who suffered a shoulder injury on Saturday at Philadelphia. Miller missed 55 games last season after wrist surgery.
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Milwaukee erased a 12-point halftime deficit and beat New York.
Milwaukee’s Ryan Rollins added a career-high 25 points. New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 36 points but hurt himself midway through the fourth quarter in a play that sparked Milwaukee’s winning rally.
Brunson appeared to injure his leg initially while scrambling for a loose ball in the fourth quarter. He remained on the floor but was moving gingerly. Then, he was dribbling behind the three-point line near Milwaukee’s bench when he fell backward in clear pain and lost the ball.
As Brunson continued to sit on the floor, Antetokounmpo got a steal and dunked on the other end to tie the game at 103-all with 6:13 remaining and start an 8-0 run.
Brunson stayed in the game after a timeout, but the Knicks couldn’t slow Milwaukee’s momentum. Antetokounmpo put Milwaukee ahead for good by converting a running layup with 5:31 left.
Mikal Bridges had 24 points for New York.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and Oklahoma City stayed undefeated by rallying to beat Sacramento.
Gilgeous-Alexander went 1 for 9 from the field in the third quarter, but bounced back and went 4 for 6 with nine points in the fourth to help the defending NBA champs improve to 5-0.
Aaron Wiggins and Ajay Mitchell each scored 18 points for the Thunder, one of four unbeaten teams in the league.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points, DeMar DeRozan scored 19 and Domantas Sabonis added 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Kings. Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook had 16 points and nine rebounds in his first start of the season for Sacramento.
