Tyrese Maxey struck for 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers over the host Mavericks 123-108 in Anthony Davis’ return as trade rumours surrounding the All-Star centre continue to swirl.
Friday’s win (all times AEDT) saw the Sixers improve to 18-14, fifth in the Eastern Conference, while the Mavericks, led by 18 points from Max Christie, lost their fourth in a row, falling to 12-23.
The Mavs’ slump comes as more trade rumours surround Davis, who had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in over 37 minutes following a two-game absence due to right adductor soreness.
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Speaking on SiriusXM, NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed Dallas is expected to move Davis ahead of the February trade deadline just one year after he was acquired in the shock Luka Doncic trade.
It comes after Haynes last week reported the Atlanta Hawks were the favourites to land Davis, but he noted Trae Young wouldn’t be included in the deal.
That could see Davis join forces with rising Aussie star Dyson Daniels on a 16-19 Hawks team that’s underperformed including a recent seven-game losing streak.
The Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors are believed to be other teams to watch.
The Sixers had 23 points from V.J. Edgecombe, 22 from Joel Embiid and 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks from reserve Quentin Grimes off 7-of-9 shooting.
“Needed to come in and just try to be myself, be aggressive, be in attack mode, try to get myself and my teammates involved,” Grimes said.
Grimes likes the Sixers’ chances of being one of the top East contenders come playoff time with Embiid back from injury and Paul George playing like his top days with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We’re getting Joel back to full speed and Paul is getting back to where he was when he was with the Clippers, so as long was we take it day by day and keep getting in rhythm with each other… I feel like we can be one of the better teams coming out of the East absolutely.”
Elsewhere, Norman Powell scored a game-high 36 points and the Miami Heat took their fourth consecutive NBA victory with a 118-112 triumph at Eastern Conference leader Detroit.
Also stretching their win streak to four games were the Houston Rockets, who got a strong performance from Kevin Durant in a 120-96 victory at Brooklyn.
Powell made seven three-pointers while Jaime Jaquez scored 19 points off the bench, Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and Bam Adebayo contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds as the Heat improved to 19-15.
The Pistons suffered their third loss in four games in falling to 25-9, still the second best record in the NBA behind Western Conference leader Oklahoma City (29-5).
Cade Cunningham powered the Pistons with 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Durant scored 22 points and made a season-high 11 assists while Amen Thompson added 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting in sparking the Rockets.
Houston (21-10) also got 20 points, six rebounds and six assists from Alperen Sengun while the Nets (10-21) were led by 21 points off the bench from Cam Thomas.
NUGGETS DEALT ANOTHER HUGE BLOW AS INJURY NIGHTMARE WORSENS
The injuries keep piling up for the Nuggets.
Denver big man Jonas Valanciunas is expected to miss at least four weeks after suffering a right calf strain during the Nuggets’ 106-103 win over the Raptors on Wednesday, the team announced Friday.
Valanciunas, 33, was forced to limp off the court late in the third quarter of Thursday’s game, and now joins a lengthy list of injured Nuggets players.
“They said it’s a calf strain. I don’t know how serious it is,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman told BasketNews. “We’re getting used to this. It seems every night someone has something. The cool thing about it is there is somebody else to get an opportunity from it, and that’s how we have to look at it.”
Four starters are currently sidelined in Denver, including three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who hyperextended his left knee during Tuesday’s loss to the Heat and will be re-evaluated in a month.
Valanciunas, who was averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds through 33 games with Denver this season, was expected to start in Jokic’s place before getting injured himself.
With both Jokic and Valanciunas hurt, the Nuggets will likely turn to rookie big man DaRon Holmes II or 2020 first-round pick Zeke Nnaji to fill the centre position in the meantime.
The Nuggets are also without forwards Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Cameron Johnson (knee), as well as guard Christian Braun (ankle) — all of whom are mainstays in Denver’s starting line-up.
Jokic, who was averaging nearly 30 points while leading the NBA in rebounds and assists, is the largest blow for the Nuggets going forward.
Luckily, however, Denver avoided the worst circumstance regarding Jokic’s injury, as it was initially speculated that the seven-time All-Star could have torn his ACL, which would have certainly ended his season.
“Obviously, it’s part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray — who is also listed as day-to-day — told reporters following Denver’s loss to Miami on Tuesday. “But we never want to see it happen. … Next man up. We’ve got to focus on what’s in here.”
-This story was originally published in the New York Post and reproduced with permission.
ALL RESULTS
Rockets 120 Nets 96
Heat 118 Pistons 112
76ers 123 Mavericks 108
Celtics 120 Kings 106
Jazz 101 Clippers 118
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