This was one of those times where the NBA rule book needs to say ‘it’s cool so it counts’.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid just barely missed one of the all-time buzzer beaters, nailing a desperation heave from inside the opposition three-point arc that would’ve forced overtime in a 110-107 thriller against Boston.
The two East titans had already played out a thriller, with the Sixers leading by as much as 13 points in the third quarter, then trailing by 10 with six minutes left in the last before storming back.
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They hit the front with 1:58 remaining thanks to Tyrese Maxey before Al Horford’s fifth three of the night put the Celtics up 105-103, and a Jayson Tatum tip-in extended the lead to four with a minute to play.
James Harden and Embiid each then made two free throws to level the scores before a Tatum three left the Sixers with 1.3 seconds left for a miracle.
They almost got it, with the Sixers seemingly just randomly in-bounding the ball to Embiid before he heaved it more than three-quarters of the way down the court – and it found nothing but net.
However time had expired just as the ball was about to leave the superstar’s hands.
Embiid finished with 41 points and 12 rebounds with the Sixers left to rue the poor shooting of Harden (21 points on five of 16 from the field).
Tatum had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assist for the Celtics while Jaylen Brown led the team with 26 points.
The win leaves Boston with the best record in the NBA at 44-17, two in the win column ahead of Milwaukee (42-17), with Philly in third (39-20).
REST OF THE DAY’S ACTION, via AFP
Elsewhere a meeting between the top two teams in the Western Conference saw the Memphis Grizzlies take down the top-ranked Denver Nuggets 112-94.
Memphis took the lead near the end of the first quarter and never looked back, at one stage stretching their lead to 35 points against an out-of-sorts Denver team.
Denver’s reigning two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was restricted to 15 points to lead the Nuggets scoring. Only four Denver players made double-digits.
Memphis meanwhile spread their offensive threat around with Ja Morant leading the way with 23 points and Tyus Jones adding 17 off the bench including five three-pointers.
The New York Knicks stretched their winning streak to five games with a 128-106 blowout over the New Orleans Pelicans, thanks to 28 points from Julius Randle and 25 from RJ Barrett.
In Charlotte, the Hornets stung the Miami Heat 108-103 thanks to a career-high 18 points from Mark Williams and 21 points from Gordon Hayward.
Tyler Herro led the Miami scoring with 33 points – including six three-pointers – while Jimmy Butler added 28 points for Miami, who fell to 32-39 following the loss.
NBA SCORES
Raptors 95, Pistons 91
Heat 103, Hornets 108
Pacers 121, Magic 108
Pelicans 106, Knicks 128
Nuggets 94, Grizzlies 112
Celtics 110, Sixers 107
Spurs 102, Jazz 118