Tyrese Maxey had 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Mavericks 123-108 in the return of Anthony Davis as trade rumors surrounding the All-Star center continue to swirl.
Friday’s win (all-time 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’ crisis comes as new trade rumors surround Davis, who had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in 37-plus minutes after a two-game absence due to right adductor soreness.
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Speaking on SiriusXMNBA insider Chris Haynes revealed that Dallas is expected to move Davis before the February trade deadline, just one year after he was acquired in the shock Luka Doncic trade.
This comes after Haynes announced last week that the Atlanta Hawks were the favorites to land Davis, but he noted that Trae Young would not be included in the deal.
That could see Davis join forces with rising Australian star Dyson Daniels on a 16-19 Hawks team that has underperformed, including a recent seven-game losing streak.
Other teams to watch would be the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors.
The Sixers had 23 points from VJ Edgecombe, 22 from Joel Embiid and 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks from reserve Quentin Grimes on 7-of-9 shooting.
“I needed to come in and 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 a top contender in the East come playoff time with Embiid returning from injury and Paul George playing like his best days with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We’re getting Joel back up to full speed and Paul getting back to where he was when he was with the Clippers, so as long as we take it day by day and continue to keep pace with each other…I feel like we can absolutely be one of the best teams in the East.”
Elsewhere, Norman Powell scored a game-high 36 points and the Miami Heat earned their fourth straight NBA victory with a 118-112 triumph over Eastern Conference leader Detroit.
Also extending their winning streak to four games were the Houston Rockets, who got a strong performance from Kevin Durant in a 120-96 victory in 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 defeat in four games, falling to 25-9, still the second-best record in the NBA behind Western Conference leader Oklahoma City (29-5).
Cade Cunningham paced 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 to spark the Rockets.
Houston (21-10) also got 20 points, six rebounds and six assists from Alperen Sengun while the Nets (10-21) led by 21 points off the bench from Cam Thomas.
THE Nuggets dealt another blow as injury nightmare worsens
The injuries continue to pile up for the Nuggets.
Denver big man Jonas Valanciunas is expected to be out at least four weeks after suffering a strained right calf 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 long list of injured Nuggets players.
“They said it was a calf strain. I don’t know how bad it is,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman told BasketNews. “We’re getting used to it. It seems like every night, someone has something. The cool thing is, there’s someone else who benefits, and that’s the way we have to look at it.”
Four starters are currently out 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 averaged 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 33 games with Denver this season, was expected to start in place of Jokic before he was injured himself.
With Jokic and Valanciunas injured, the Nuggets will likely turn to rookie big man DaRon Holmes II or 2020 first-round pick Zeke Nnaji to fill the center 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 lineup.
Jokic, who averaged nearly 30 points while leading the NBA in rebounds and assists, is the biggest blow for the Nuggets moving forward.
Fortunately, however, Denver avoided the worst of circumstances regarding Jokic’s injury, as it was initially speculated that the seven-time All-Star could have torn his ACL, which certainly would have ended his season.
“Obviously, it’s part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray — who is also listed as day-to-day — told reporters after Denver’s loss to Miami on Tuesday. “But we never want that to happen. … On to the next man up. We have to focus on what’s 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 Nonconformists 108
Celtics 120 Kings 106
Jazz101 Mowers 118
