NBA: Clippers win Los Angeles derby, Embiid punishes Rockets, Warriors continue to lose stars

An exciting win for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Houston Rockets in overtime. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey commanded the victory for the hosts combining to score 68 points and 20 assists.

The neighborly game between the Clippers and the Lakers was also full of script twists, with an apparent comeback that came to nothing, while the Dallas Mavericks managed to overcome a depleted Golden State Warriors.

Here are the highlights of the days action in the NBA:

Defining overtime in Philadelphia

Joel Embiid returned to action with a 32-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist performance after being rested in Tuesday's loss to Phoenix. The final score: 128-122 in favor of the 76ers.

It was the ninth triple double of the Cameroonian's career and the first of this season, in which he continues to find his rhythm after a sluggish start.

The center, NBA MVP (Most Valuable Player) in 2023, was a nightmare for his defender, Turkey's Alperen Sengün, who was held to 13 points while Kevin Durant held the keys to the Texans' offense with 36 points.

For the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey also reached 36 points and added 10 assists. The shooting guard, chosen as a starter for the February All-Star Game, was able to keep the tightly contested gmae from going into overtime.

With the score tied at 115 and a few seconds left on the clock, Maxey tried to score a layup that was blocked by Durant. The miss didn't deter the shooting guard, who converted six points in an overtime in which Houston exhibited an offensive dependence on Durant.

Lakers come close to a comeback

Although they squandered a wide lead, the Clippers ended up holding off the Lakers' comeback and celebrating in front of their home crowd by a score of 112-104.

The Los Angeles derby was scheduled on the 20th anniversary of Lakers icon Kobe Bryant's 81-point exhibition, the second-highest scoring output in history.

Luka Doncic, who reached the fourth-highest mark with 73 points in 2024, carried the Lakers' offensive load as usual with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

An acrobatic three-pointer by the Slovenian tightened the visitors' grip by bringing them within just two points (93-91) with five minutes left, after having trailed by 26 points in the third quarter.

James Harden (18 points) stopped the advance with another triple and the Clippers managed to hold on until the end with a good performance by Kawhi Leonard (24), who returned after a week off.

LeBron James scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the Lakers, who are in sixth place in the Western Conference after three losses in the last five games.

Warriors' 'curse': now they lose Kuminga

The Golden State Warriors injury plague continued Thursday in a 123-115 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The loss of Jimmy Butler, who will be out for the rest of the season with torn ligaments, prompted Steve Kerr this week to reintroduce Jonathan Kuminga into the rotation. The Congolese forward, who has requested a trade to another team because of a lack of prominence, responded with 20 points in Tuesday's loss to Toronto and scored 10 in just nine minutes Thursday when he hurt his left leg on a drive to the basket in the second quarter.

Without two scorers of that caliber by his side, Stephen Curry was again left to fend for himself in Dallas, finishing with 38 points and eight 3-pointers. The locals, also weighed down by losses, had Naji Marshall as top scorer with 30 points while the stellar rookie Cooper Flagg had 21 points and 11 rebounds.

In another reunion with his former team, veteran Klay Thompson was held to 6 points in 23 minutes off the bench.