Tyson, unexpected leader in Cavaliers' win over Sixers

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a second straight win on Friday from Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers court, with an unexpected 39-point outburst from Jaylon Tyson.

At the midpoint of a very disappointing season, the Cavaliers caught some air this week with back-to-back wins at the Sixers, a direct rival in the Eastern Conference. After their resounding win on Wednesday, Cleveland prevailed also on Friday by a tight 117-115 and a final comeback included.

The Cavs, moreover, were without point guard Darius Garland, who sat out the previous game with right foot discomfort, and their star Donovan Mitchell was limited to scoring 13 points. The point guard, who grabbed 9 rebounds, focused on the role of facilitator with 12 assists and ceded the offensive lead to Jaylon Tyson for once.

Young Tyson's most inspired night

The forward enjoyed the most inspired night of his young career by reaching 39 points, his personal record, with 7 three-pointers out of 9 attempts. The 23-year-old Tyson wasn't burned by the ball as the hosts took a seven-point lead (111-104) with less than four minutes remaining. Tyson converted two consecutive three-pointers and took over on Cleveland's final possession with the score tied at 115.

Tyson received the ball after an onside kick, accelerated next to the baseline and, as Embiid came out to him, doubled for Evan Mobley (15 points), who pounded the rim to give Cleveland the win with seconds left.

Embiid finished with 33 points in 33 minutes on the court but the Sixers are struggling to perform in home games, with a record of 10 wins and 11 losses.

Cleveland (24-19) thus snatched sixth place in the East from the Sixers (22-18) and continues to put back together a season that started as one of the big favorites in the division.

Clippers win without Leonard

Another team making up ground is the Los Angeles Clippers, who on Friday moved into playoff contention with a 121-117 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.

The Los Angeles Clippers, 10th in the West (18-23), were without Kawhi Leonard because of ankle discomfort. The last absence of the resurgent Leonard, who averaged 29 points in the past two months, dates back to a win against Charlotte on Nov. 22 in which James Harden hit 55 points.

On Friday "The Beard" had 31 points and 10 assists in a personal tally that could have been much higher had he not missed 13 of the 15 three-pointers he shot. Harden himself missed a shot at the buzzer in the fourth quarter that would have given the Clippers an early triumph but he was the star of the overtime with eight points.

Nets snap losing streak at Bulls' expense

Under Spanish coach Jordi Fernández, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 112-109, ending a streak of five consecutive losses.

New York's franchise-leading small forward Michael Porter Jr. again led the offense with 26 points and five 3-pointers and converted the winning shot with five seconds left.

The Nets (12-27) remain in second-to-last place in the East (12-27) while the Bulls (19-22) fell to 10th place in the division.