NBA Roundup: Sixers, Lakers, and Hawks sweep up on the court

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Joel Embiid and James Harden scored a combined 56 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-101 on Friday. The Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks also secured important wins.

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (c.) drives at Toronto Raptors Precious Achiuwa (r.) during the second half of basketball action in Toronto on Friday.
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (c.) drives at Toronto Raptors Precious Achiuwa (r.) during the second half of basketball action in Toronto on Friday.  © imago/ZUMA Press

Going 11-for-20 from the floor, Embiid scored 21 of his 32 points in the first half, including a fadeaway three on the buzzer, to give the Sixers a 58-53 lead at the half.

Luka Doncic put up a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists but was held to 25% from the floor and 20% from the perimeter, in a poor shooting night.

At 43-26, the Sixers are now three games behind the Miami Heat, the Eastern Conference leaders, while the Mavericks are fifth in the Western Conference at 43-27.

NBA star Blake Griffin confirms basketball future with big announcement
NBA NBA star Blake Griffin confirms basketball future with big announcement

As more NBA games rolled on, Russell Westbrook's three-pointer at the end of regulation propelled the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-123 road win over the Toronto Raptors in overtime.

With 10.3 seconds remaining, the much-maligned Westbrook forced a turnover off a Raptors inbound before draining a contested triple from the wing, to tie the game at 116-116.

Both sides remain firmly placed in play-in calculations, though, with the Lakers ninth in the Western Conference at 30-40, while the Raptors are seventh in the East on 39-31.

Without their two scoring leaders, the Atlanta Hawks secured an important win at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, emerging 120-105 victors.

In John Collins and Trae Young's absence, Bogdan Bogdanovic came up big with a season-high 30 points, while Delon Wright and Clint Capela also added 18 each.

Despite 29 points from Ja Morant on 11-for-23 shooting, the Grizzlies had a four-game win streak snapped, but still hold the NBA's second-best record at 48-23.

Friday night also held tons of play action from the first round of the men's and women's NCAA tournament.

Cover photo: imago/ZUMA Press

More on NBA: