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Embiid, Harris Help Philadelphia 76ers Beat Los Angeles Lakers 143-120

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PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers pounded LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 143-120 on Sunday.

Embiid, who said after the game that he was happy with his overall contribution in the game, shot 12 of 16 from the field and made 11 of his 12 free throws. Box Score

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Tobias Harris had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists in his second game with Philadelphia and JJ Redick finished 21 points in the win for the hosts at the Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia 76ers v Los Angeles Lakers Highlights

Jimmy Butler added 15 points, T.J. McConnell scored 13 and Boban Marjanovic, who also came over from the LA Clippers on Thursday’s trade deadline, finished with 10 points for the Sixers (36-20), who have won two straight and improved to 23-6 at home.

Kyle Kuzma paced the Los Angeles Lakers with 39 points on 14 of 21 shooting overall, while making five 3-pointers.

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JaVale McGee recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Brandon Ingram scored 19 points and James added 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers (28-28), who shot 51.6 percent from the field.

Los Angeles falls to 12-16 on the road.

As a team, the Philadelphia 76ers shot 57.7 percent from the field on 56 of 97 shooting, while making 12 of their 24 attempts from 3-point range.

The Sixers are back in action again on Tuesday night when they host the Boston Celtics.

Los Angeles Lakers will complete their six-game road trip in Atlanta on Tuesday night against the Hawks.

LA Lakers v Philadelphia 76ers Live on WatchESPN, ABC

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PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will visit a young and spirited Philadelphia 76ers side in the highlighted NBA fixture on Sunday.

Live streaming coverage of this game is available on WatchESPN, while live national broadcast will be on ABC, starting at 3:30 pm ET.

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The Lakers (28-27, 12-15 Away) are coming off a stunning buzzer-beating 129-128 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night and James and his teammates will hope to build on that momentum when they visit the Wells Fargo Center.

A new-look Philadelphia (35-20, 22-6 Home) side, meanwhile, enters this game on the back of a 117-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

In that win, JJ Redick scored a season-high 34 points, Jimmy Butler had 22, while newly acquired Tobias Harris looked comfortable already in the Sixers’ system.

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Joel Embiid leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season with 27.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game.

Talented points guard Ben Simmons is dishing out 8.0 assists per game and shooting 57.3 percent from the field. He is also grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game and scoring 16.9 points per outing.

For the LA Lakers, meanwhile, James leads the way with 27 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.

He has very good supporters as well, with Kyle Kuzma averaging 18.7 points and Brandon Ingram scoring 16.9 per game.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 121-105 in the first meeting between these two clubs on Jan 29.

Lakers Without James, Rondo v Clippers: Follow Livescores

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LOS ANGELES — With veteran playmakers, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo both sidelined by injuries, the Los Angeles Lakers will be banking on the youngsters to step up against the LA Clippers on Friday night.

Live coverage of this battle will be on NBATV at 10:30 PM ET. Follow game updates and livescores of Friday’s game.

James went down with a left groin strain midway through the third quarter on Christmas Day at Golden State and has been listed as day-to-day.

The star forward was held out of the Lakers’ defeat against the Kings on Thursday night, which snapped his consecutive games played streak at 156 and the team confirmed that he is also ruled out of Friday’s contest.

James leads the team in scoring at 27.3 points per game and assists, at 7.1 dimes per contest.

Point guard Rajon Rondo will also miss the game with a finger injury he also picked up in the win against the Warriors on Tuesday night.

Rondo suffered a Grade 3 sprain to his right ring finger and will be out for at least a month after undergoing hand surgery.

The injuries to James and Rondo could provide the rest of the team with the perfect opportunity to step up.

Players such as Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball were all impressive for Los Angeles (20-15) on Thursday night in the 117-116 defeat at the host Sacramento Kings, despite the visitors blowing a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead.

This young Lakers team will be going up against the Clippers (20-14), who have been performing above their expectations so far this season and will be pumped for tonight’s game at STAPLES Center.

Entering this encounter, the Clippers have won 21 of the past 24 games against the Lakers and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is backing Doc Rivers’ men to continue their recent dominance in this series.

Led by Tobias Harris and veteran guard Lou Williams, who are averaging 21.5 and 17.6 points per game, respective, the Clippers have been scoring freely in the recent outing and are one of the Top 3 teams in the NBA in scoring, at 115.9 points per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers are ranked No. 9 in the NBA in scoring, with 113.3 points per game.

NBA Christmas Day Schedule, Live TV Channels: Dec. 25

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MIAMI, FL – A well anticipated Christmas Day schedule awaits NBA fans on Tuesday, although there is no NBA Finals rematch this year.

However, there is a familiar matchup listed on the day’s schedule.

For the fourth consecutive year on Christmas Day, LeBron James will go up against the Golden State Warriors, although he will be wearing the colors of Los Angeles Lakers this time.

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This clash will see James facing off with Steph Curry and it headlines the five games slated for December 25.

The Lakers visit to the Warriors will be televised live by both ESPN and ABC and streaming on WatchESPN, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

In addition to James and Curry, the Christmas Day fixtures will see the likes of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Joel Embiid all in action.

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The NBA Christmas Day Showdowns will tip off on ESPN and WatchESPN at Noon ET with the Milwaukee Bucks traveling to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.

This is followed by Westbrook going up his former teammate James Harden when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Houston Rockets (3 p.m. ET), live on ABC and WatchESPN.

Boston Celtics will be hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on ABC and WatchESPN at 5:30 p.m. ET, before the Lakers visit the Warriors. Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz will close out Christmas Day in Salt Lake City (10:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN and WatchESPN.

Christmas Day 2018 – December. 25
Bucks vs. Knicks | Noon ET | ESPN and WatchESPN
Thunder vs. Rockets | 3 p.m. ET | ABC and WatchESPN
Sixers vs. Celtics | 5:30 p.m. ET | ABC and WatchESPN
Lakers vs. Warriors | 8 p.m. ET | ABC/ESPN and WatchESPN
Trail Blazers vs. Jazz | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN and WatchESPN

Watch Video Highlights: Celtics v Cavaliers Conference Finals Game 1

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BOSTON — Watch video highlights from the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the hosts Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on Sunday.

Jaylen Brown had 23 points and eight rebounds, Marcus Morris added a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards, and the Celtics completely dominated the Cavaliers in a 108-83 win at home.

Boston started strong and opened a 21-point first-quarter lead before rolling into the halftime break with a 61-35, the biggest halftime playoff deficit in LeBron James distinguished career.

Morris, making in his first start this postseason, was outstanding at guarding James on Sunday.

“He’s obviously the best player in the game,” said Morris, who during the week boasted that he was up to the challenge and on Sunday explained why he wanted it.

“Because I’m a competitor. He’s the best player, and I’m going to be able to tell my kids this one day.”

Al Horford finished with 20 points and six assists and rookie Jayson Tatum contributed 16 points and six rebound for Boston, which led by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, James shot 5 of 16 from the field, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range to end with a playoff-low 15 points and a playoff-high seven turnovers in the defeat for the Cavaliers.

The four-time NBA MVP also added nine assists and seven rebounds.

Kevin Love had 17 points and 8 rebounds, Rodney Hood finished with 11 points and Jordan Clarkson scored 10 for Cleveland, which pulled its starters midway through the fourth quarter.

Despite the below par Game 1 performance, James is confident the Cavs will bounce back.

“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” said James.

“I’ve been down before in the postseason, but for me there’s never any level of concern — no matter how bad I played tonight, with seven turnovers, how inefficient I was shooting the ball,” he added.

“We have another opportunity to be better as a ball club coming in Tuesday night, and we’ll see what happens.”

Game 2 in the seven-game series is Tuesday night.

“I think we’re very alert to the fact that we’ll get a heavyweight punch on Tuesday night,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

“It’s another great challenge, another great opportunity to experience something for this team.”

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Cavaliers v Raptors: Game 3 Live Stream on WatchESPN

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CLEVELAND — Cleveland Cavaliers will look to continue their dominating run against the Toronto Raptors when they meet in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-final at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night.

Tip-off time for this one is set for 8:30 pm in Cleveland, with the Cavaliers leading the best-of-seven game series 2-0 and live on ABC and streaming on WatchESPN.

LeBron James and the Cavs stunned the Raptors 113-112 in overtime in Game 1 of the series on Tuesday night and then took the second game comfortably, 128-110 on Thursday night.

The Cleveland has previously taken a 2-0 lead in a series 21 times and has gone on to win all of them, while Toronto is still to win a series after going behind 0-2.

James, who has been dominating the playoffs so far, is averaging 34.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game so far this postseason, which also includes the seven-game thriller with the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

From two games thus far in this series, James is averaging 34.5 points, 13.5 assists and 9.5 rebounds against the Raptors.

Meanwhile, Toronto, which enters this playoff campaign as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and easily put away the Washington Wizards in round one, has been struggling to match the same level of intensity in this series.

The Raptors were swept away in the Eastern Conference semis by James and the Cavaliers last season and way things look at the moment, DeMar DeRozan and Co. are in danger of tumbling out at the same stage again.

Many have already written off the East top seed, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey is still confident his team can bounce back.

Meanwhile, despite leading his team to a dominating Game 2 win, James, who became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points with 14 assists in a playoff game, remains grounded.

Kevin Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday night with J.R. Smith scoring 15 points, Jeff Green chipping in with 14 and George Hill finishing with 13 for the Cavaliers to post their eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Raptors.

“It’s one game at a time, and that’s the only way we should look at it,” said James. “We will not put our guards down.

“I won’t, so that’s going to trickle down to everybody else. Understanding that the series is never won until it’s over.

“You’ve got to win four games to get out of a series and it starts with the next game, so I will be as sharp as I was tonight.”

In the meantime, Raptors coach Casey identified at least one problem his team is struggling with this series.

“We have some matchup issues all over the court,” Casey admitted.

DeRozan is looking for a response from his team.

“Sometimes when you’re put in tough situations, that’s what brings the best out of you,” he said. “That’s what point we’re at now.”

Pacers v Cavaliers Game 3: Watch Live on WatchESPN, ESPN

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INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Indiana for a key Game 3 first-round playoff clash with the Pacers on Friday night and you can stream the action live on WatchESPN.

Live coverage of this game is schedule for 7:00 pm ET: Live on ESPN. You can also follow live play by play on ESPN Gamecast.

The best-of-seven series is locked at 1-1, following the opening two games in Cleveland, but after stealing one on the road, the Pacers will be hoping to take care of business when they host a pair of games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It’s going to be incredible being on the floor,” Indiana center Myles Turner said ahead of the Game 3 battle.

“I think we’re in a great spot. We wanted to go 2-0 but we did our job and got one. I can’t wait to get in front of the Indy fans.”

After losing Game 1 in the series, the Cavs, behind James’ stellar performance of 46 points on 17 of 24 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists, bounced back to take Game 2 100-97.

Kevin Love chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Korver ended with 12 points for the Cavaliers to hold on for the victory.

Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 22 points and six assists, but fell into early foul trouble in the opening minutes of the game, which helped the Cavs to race off out to a 16-1 lead.

Turner added 18 for Indiana, with Darren Collison ended with 16 points and six assists, as the Pacers shot nearly 53-percent in the defeat.

Looking ahead to the third game, Collison believes the home side can’t allow the Cavaliers to start so quickly again, adding that they must also look to slow down James a bit.

“We have to do a better job of containing him, which is easier said than done,” the point guard said.

“We made enough plays to give ourselves a chance to win despite his 46 points.”

Meanwhile, Love, who injured his left thumb late in the game while deflecting a pass, had X-rays after the game, which returned negative and he’s expected to be fine for Friday’s game.

Oladipo, Pacers Hand LeBron, Cavaliers Game 1 Playoff Defeat

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CLEVELAND — Victor Oladipo delivered an impressive performance, and the Indiana Pacers held off the Cleveland Cavaliers for a shocking 98-80 victory Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first series.

Oladipo scored 32 points on 11 of 19 shooting from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3-pointers and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Pacers, who handed LeBron James and Cleveland a first loss in the opening round.

It was the 13th time Oladipo was scoring 30 or more points this season.

Myles Turner had 16 points and eight rebounds, Bojan Bogdanovic ended with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals and Lance Stephenson scored 12 points off the bench for Indiana, which shot almost 46-percent in the win.

Indiana led by as many as 23 points and held the Cavs to the lowest points at home this term.

LeBron James collected a triple-double in the defeat for the Cavaliers.

James, who played 44 of the 48 total minutes, had 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Cavs, but went 7 of 17 from the floor and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

JR Smith was the only other Cleveland player reaching double-digit scoring – finishing with 15 points, as Kevin Love grabbed 17 rebounds, but was limited to nine points and the likes of Jeff Green, George Hill and Rodney Hood combined for 17 points.

Game 2 is again at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers never led, but battled hard in the second-half before coming up well short.

Game Information

Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers On WatchESPN

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CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert — Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers will battle in one of the featured NBA games on the schedule on Saturday, Jan. 20.

Coverage of this game from the Quicken Loans Arena will be live on ABC at 3:30 PM ET, while WatchESPN will provide the live online and mobile device streaming.

The Cavaliers (27-17) are sitting third in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment and have been struggling to find their best form in recent outings.

LeBron James and Co. battled out a 104-103 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, but lost four straight prior to that game and are 3-7 in the last 10 games overall.

Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder

“Once you accept something, regardless of what it is, I think you become comfortable with it,” Anthony said, according to ESPN. “You start putting your all into it, you start working on that role and on that acceptance, and it becomes fun.

“I think right now, after accepting that role, I think early in December, the game is starting to become fun again for me.”

Despite their recent poor form, Cleveland has been listed as that slight favorite to beat the Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City at home, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Meanwhile, the Thunder (25-20) are beginning to get it together with even star forward Carmelo Anthony admitting recently that playing is “starting to become fun again,” after accepting his new role in the setup.

Oklahoma City is fifth in the Western Conference standings and has won three straight games and five of the last eight overall.

In other news, James enters this game needing just 25 points to become the seventh NBA player to score 30,000 career points.

“It would be cool,” Dwyane Wade said. “When I got 20,000 LeBron was … we was playing Cleveland and it was actually pretty cool that it happened in that moment and it would be cool to be, with me and Carmelo, to be there.

“This is an elite class for a guy to be in. I mean, 30,000 points is insane. I definitely want him to do it (Saturday) like everybody else.”

Watch Celtics v Cavaliers Live on WatchESPN: LeBron v Kyrie Again

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BOSTON – Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics will play host to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on Wednesday night and you can stream the action live on WatchESPN.

The night’s clash, which tips off at 8:00 pm ET and televised live on ESPN, will see former Cavs teammates Irving and James battling for the second time since Kyrie left the Cavaliers, but former Boston guard Isaiah Thomas will not feature.

Thomas made his long-awaited debut in smashing style against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night after being out for seven months due to an injury.

However, Cleveland has decided to rest its starting point guard as he continues to work on his fitness.

When the Celtics and the Cavaliers met in the regular season opener on Oct. 17, James had 29 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs in a 102-99 win.

Come tonight, Boston will be aiming to return the favor on their home court, as Irving and his teammates hunt their fourth successive win.

Entering this game, Irving is averaging a career-high 24.8 points, while James is also putting out career-bests 27.7 points, 9.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game, while playing almost 31 minutes a game.

James, one of the early leading candidates for the MVP honor this season, is ranked third in scoring and second in assists per contest this term.

As a team, the Cavaliers are fifth in points per game with 110.5.

Boston is scoring 103.5, but is allowing 98.5, which is second in the league behind the San Antonio Spurs.

Atlanta Hawks End 8-Game Skid With 117-115 Win Over Cavaliers

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CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert — Seven players, including all five starters, scored in double figures and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-115 in the NBA on Sunday.

Dennis Schroder shot 9 of 13 for 28 points to go with nine assists for Atlanta, while Taurean Prince and Luke Babbitt each scored 17 points in the win.

“It’s a special place to play and everyone was excited to compete against these guys,” Schroder said.

Dewayne Dedmon went 7 of 10 from the floor to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds and John Collins added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks (2-8), who had lost eight straight games entering this contest.

Isaiah Taylor was the other Atlanta player reaching double figures after finishing with 14 points.

“To get a win in Cleveland is not easy to do,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

“They had a chance down the stretch where they got back in it, but I’m happy for our guys. It’s a good win.”

LeBron James, coming off a 57-point performance Friday night at Washington, paced the Cavaliers with 26 points on 10 of 17.

James also had 13 assists and five rebounds, while Dwyane Wade had a season-high 25 points with 11 rebounds and six assists off the bench for Cleveland (4-6), which beat the Wizards 130-122 in the last outing, but has lost five in the past six overall.

“No energy. The effort was pretty bad,” James said of the early deficit.

“You turn the corner but you can’t fix it in one game. We just have to try and figure it out.”

Kyle Korver finished with 23 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers.

The Cavs shot 29.8 percent as a team and trailed the Hawks 54-45 at halftime.

They were able to cut a 16-point deficit in the second half to two with 21.3 seconds left, but Atlanta held on for the win after Channing Frye missed a 3-pointer and Wade couldn’t finish from a tip-in.

Game Box Scores

James Drops NBA Season-High 57pts; Cavaliers Beat Wizards

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WASHINGTON, Sporting Alert — LeBron James dropped an NBA season-high 57 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their four-game losing streak with a 130-122 win at the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

James, who was scoring the most points in the NBA this season, shot 23 of 34 from the floor and ended with a game-high 11 rebounds, along with seven assists, three steals and two blocks for the Cavaliers (4-5).

“Pretty much feels like everything you throw up is going in,” James said about his performance. “And so, every shot that I took it feels like it was going in, even when they were highly contested.

“I just had my eyes on the target, trying to stay as disciplined. As I’ve grown as a basketball player, staying disciplined with my shot, disciplined with my balance, and every shot that I took it feels like it was going in.”

James’ 57 points performance saw him matching Kyrie Irving’s franchise record, which was set against the San Antonio Spurs on March 12, 2015.

LeBron James of the Cavaliers
LeBron James of the Cavaliers at the free throw line

This was James’ 11th 50-point performance of his career, but he was scoring 50 or more points for the first time since grabbing a career-high 61 in 2014.

“We obviously witnessed one of the best players to ever play the game,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said about James. “He still has it, if you guys didn’t know that. We knew that.

“Going into the game, very rarely you see a guy hit like 10 straight heat-check shots. It seems like every shot he was contested, and a lot of them were midrange. I think out of 34 shots he had four 3s. We tried everything.

“You got to pat him on the behind. Great game, amazing player. You got to move on to the next game.”

Derrick Rose added 20 points, Jae Crowder finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Kevin Love supported with 11 points and eight boards for Cleveland, which shot 56.1 percent and made 14 shots from 3-point range.

“I’m happy to be on this side of the ball,” Rose said. “A hell of a performance. If anything, just learn from it and be mindful of it and just try to take it all in. It was a hell of a performance, man, and you see why he’s at where he’s at.”

Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards against the Cavaliers

Bradley Beal scored 36 points for the Wizards on 12 of 19 shooting, while Kelly Oubre Jr. made five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 21 points off the bench with seven rebounds in the defeat.

Otto Porter Jr. and Marcin Gortat each scored 13 points and John Wall added 13 points, 15 assists and six rebounds for Washington (4-4), who has now lost two straight and four in the last five overall.

Cleveland led 74-66 at halftime and shot 66 percent during that duration, the most points the Wizards have given up in any half this season.