LOS ANGELES – Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 50 points to lead a Philadelphia 76ers team rattled by the road accident involving forward Kelly Oubre to a convincing 137-126 NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday (Monday Manila time).
Oubre suffered a broken rib and other injuries when he was hit by a vehicle while walking near his Philadelphia home on Saturday. He was treated in hospital and released, but he was on his teammates' minds on Sunday.
"This had nothing to do with me, this is all Kelly Oubre, man," Maxey — whose previous career high was 44 points — said after hitting 20 of 32 shots from the field, including seven of 11 from 3-point range.
He added seven rebounds and five assists and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid added a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds as the Sixers notched their eighth straight win.
Embiid scored 19 points in the first quarter and the Sixers led by as many as 19 on the way to a 69-60 halftime lead.
The Pacers, led by 25 points from Tyrese Haliburton and 22 from Myles Turner, kept chipping away, and took a one-point lead on Aaron Nesmith's layup with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers responded, however, authoring an 18-6 scoring run to regain control.
In Los Angeles, Desmond Bane scored 27 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies claw out their second win of the season, a 105-101 victory over the Clippers.
The Grizzlies have struggled with star Ja Morant's 25-game suspension due to stretch into December. But they were able to hold off a Clippers team still trying to figure out the best use of new acquisition James Harden.
The Clippers have now lost five straight, including four since the former league MVP arrived in a trade from Philadelphia.
"I saw some intriguing things but we've just got to be better," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, adding that the team's offense lacked energy.
"We can't just walk around offensively," he said.
Harden scored 11 points and drained a 3-pointer that knotted it at 98-98 with 1:33 to play. But a Bismack Biyombo free throw put the Grizzlies back up for good.
Paul George led the Clippers with 26 points. Russell Westbrook added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists on his 35th birthday.
In Brooklyn, Mikal Bridges scored 27 points to lead the Nets in a 102-94 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Nic Claxton returned after missing eight games with a sprained ankle, scoring 10 points with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Nets, who collected 20 offensive rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points compared to the Wizards' seven.
The New York Knicks, propelled by 24 points from RJ Barrett and 23 from Julius Randle, cruised to a 129-107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
LaMelo Ball led the Hornets, putting up 32 points with seven rebounds and six assists.