Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid combined for 68 points and 20 assists, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 128-122 win at home over the Houston Rockets in overtime.
The Sixers went into halftime with a 68-61 lead after Maxey threw down a dunk with 2.1 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Yet the Rockets rallied to tie the score at 88 on a Dorian Finney-Smith 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in the third. Kevin Durant also hit three 3s to boost the Houston comeback.
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Two missed calls by the officials resulted in the game going to overtime.
At the end of regulation, Durant appeared to commit goaltending on blocking Maxey’s layup attempt with three seconds remaining. He blocked the shot after it hit the glass. But the play could not be reviewed because goaltending was not originally called by the officials.
On the rebound after Durant’s block, the Rockets were awarded a timeout even though they didn’t have clear possession of the ball. Had Houston not been allowed to call timeout, Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe had an open 3-pointer that could have won the game.
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Instead, the officials reviewed the play and said an inadvertent whistle had been blown. That resulted in a jump ball at mid-court with 1.3 seconds left. Kelly Oubre Jr. got the ball, but Philadelphia could not get a shot off before time expired in regulation.
“Look, they are supposed to call those,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said afterwards, via The Athletic. “If it is even close, they are supposed to call those and then go and review and get the play right. They should have called it in order to get the play right.”
In overtime, the Sixers quickly took a 5-point lead on a 3 from Paul George and layup by Edgecombe. Houston quickly tied the score at 120-120 on a Durant 3 and Amen Thompson layup. Philadelphia then outscored the Rockets 6-2 during the final two minutes to take a four-point lead. A Maxey dunk with 6.4 seconds remaining clinched the game for the 76ers.
Maxey scored six points in overtime to finish with 36, 10 assists and 4 steals. Embiid tallied a triple-double with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Oubre, who was moved into the starting lineup, added 26 points (hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers) with 4 assists and 3 boards. And George finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
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With the win, Philadelphia improved 24-19 to move ahed of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs host the Sacramento Kings on Friday. The 76ers host the New York Knicks on Saturday with a chance to pull the Knicks, who have lost nine of their past 12 games, further down the standings.
Durant led the Rockets with 36 points (making 5-of-8 3s) and 7 rebounds. Thompson added 17 points, 6 boards and 9 assists, while Reed Sheppard scored 14 (with 4-of-7 3-pointers) off the bench. Alperen Şengün, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason each finished with 13 points.
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Houston dropped to 26-16 with the defeat and could fall behind the Los Angeles Lakers to the No. 5 spot in the West, pending the Lakers’ matchup on Thursday with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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