Sixers take Detroit

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Pistons 97-86 in Detroit on the back of Cameroonian forward Joel Embiid’s 30 points and nine rebounds, rookie Ben Simmons had a 21-point, 12-rebounds, 10-assist triple-double, and Robert Covington finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists, Avery Bradley had 15 points, Andre Drummond had a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double and Tobias Harris 11 points and four rebounds.

Heat burn ATL

The Miami Heat held home court and beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-93. Josh Richardson had 21 points and four rebounds, Goran Dragic had 19 points and six assists, Kelly Olynyk had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double and Dion Waiters had 10 points.

The Hawks were led by Taurean Prince with 20 points and seven rebounds, Kent Bazemore had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists, and John Collins ended the game with a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Bucks swat Hornets

Another impressive game by Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo helped the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Charlotte Hornets 103-94. He put up a 32-point, 14-rebound double-double, Khris Middleton had 20 points and six rebounds, while Mirza Teletovic finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

Frank Kaminsky led the Hornets with 18 points and five rebounds, Jeremy Lamb had 17 points and nine rebounds, Kemba Walker 15 points and six assists, and Dwight Howard grabbed 22 boards and tallied eight points.

Warriors down Mavericks

The golden State Warriors handed the Dallas Mavericks a 133-103 blowout on the back of 29 points, eight assists and four steals, Kevin Durant had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Klay Thompson had 21 points and four rebounds, while Nick Young ended the game with 13 points.

The Mavs were led by Wesley Matthews with 19 points, Harrison Barnes had 13 points and seven rebounds, JJ Barea 13 points and eight assists, and Yogi Ferrell also finished the night with 13 points and grabbed four rebounds.

The Rest

A 16-point, 14-rebound double-double by Dejoune Murray helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Spurs 101-97, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets 98-90 on the back of Mike Conley’s 17 points, John Wall had a 19-point, 12-assist double-double in the Washington Wizards’ 109-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets, and Devin Booker put up 22 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 117-115 win over the Sacramento Kings.

By Kaunda Chama