A 60-point outburst from the Washington’s Bradley Beal went in vain as Joel Embiid and Seth Curry helped the Philadelphia 76ers prevail 141-136 over the Wizards on Wednesday. 

Embiid and Curry scored 38 and 28 points respectively while Tobias Harris and Shake Milton added 19 points each as the 76ers notched their fifth consecutive win to stretch their improve their league-leading record to 7-1, AFP reported. 

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The Wizards overcame a 21 point deficit in the third quarter to tie the score at 131 a piece, although with four minutes left to play, the 76ers scored eight consecutive points to steer clear off their opponents. 

Rubbing salt to the wounds of the defeat was Russel Westbrook’s injury in the dying embers of the game, as a dislocated finger forced him off following a fine performance, contributing 20 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists. 

The 11 games of the night were played out mere hours after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters caused mayhem at the US Capitol Building in Washington, leaving at least 4 people dead and dozens arrested. 

Players and coaches from across the league addressed the violence along with the earlier decision to not charge the white police officers who shot and paralysed African-American Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last August. 

“We play tonight’s game with a heavy heart after yesterday’s decision in Kenosha and knowing that protesters in our nation’s capital are treated differently by political leaders depending on what side of certain issues they are on,” players from the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat said in a joint statement before their game.

“The drastic difference between the way protesters this past spring and summer were treated and the encouragement given to today’s protesters who acted illegally just shows how much more work we have to do.”

The marquee matchup in Miami was the first meeting between the teams since the Heat eliminated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

The rematch saw the Celtics emerge from a close game with a 107-105 victory.

Boston used a 10-0 scoring run to build a 10-point lead with 1:17 remaining only for the Heat to respond with a 10-0 run of their own before Celtics guard Payton Pritchard made a game-winning layup with two-tenths of a second remaining.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 26 points. Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics with 27 and Jaylen Brown added 21.

In Orlando, Terrence Ross scored 20 points and Dwayne Bacon added 19 to lead the Magic to a 105-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But the victory was marred by a season-ending knee injury to point guard Markelle Fultz in the first quarter.

Fultz’s knee appeared to give out as he drove to the basket and he crashed to the court in obvious pain with what the team later said was a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Charlotte’s free-agent acquisition Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 44 points to propel the Hornets to a 102-94 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta.

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The Indiana Pacers, fueled by 35 points from Malcolm Brogdon, notched a 114-107 win over the Houston Rockets, whose star James Harden delivered a modest 15 points and 12 assists.

The Milwaukee Bucks, with 25 points from NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, cruised to a 130-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons, who saw Derrick Rose depart early with a right knee contusion.

The Oklahoma City Thunder edged the Pelicans in New Orleans 111-110. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points and George Hill made two free throws to seal the win with 12.1 seconds left to play.

Zion Williamson’s 29 points paced the Pelicans, who also had a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists from center Steven Adams of New Zealand, whose first career triple-double came against his former team.

With 21 points from both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Golden State Warriors 108-101 in San Francisco.

Warriors star Stephen Curry endured a tough shooting night, scoring just 13 points after amassing 92 in his previous two games, including his career-high 62 against Portland on Sunday.