The China Mail - Murray's 53 points propel Nuggets over Mavs

Murray posted his second 50-point game of the season and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 23 points, 21 rebounds and 19 assists.

Denver led by as many as 13 in the third quarter, but the Mavs pulled within one, at 127-126, with 4:20 left to play.

Jokic made a floater, Peyton Watson and Murray drilled three-pointers and the Nuggets pulled away again to hand the Mavs -- led by rookie Cooper Flagg's 26 points -- a fifth straight defeat.

The Nuggets remain neck and neck with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves overcame a 13-point deficit in overtime to beat the Houston Rockets 110-108.

Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George made triumphant returns, combining for 63 points in the Sixers' 157-137 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.

Former NBA Most Valuable Player Embiid showed no sign of rust after missing 13 games with an oblique strain, scoring 35 points -- including 15 of the Sixers' first 19 as they seized control with a 38-point first quarter.

George, returning from a 25-game suspension for taking a medication that violated the league's anti-drug program, took longer to warm up, scoring 23 of his 28 in the second half.

Embiid, who said the injury is still "really painful," added six rebounds and seven assists and the duo showed just how big a playoff threat the Sixers could be if both stay healthy.

They're seventh in the East, a fraction behind the Atlanta Hawks for sixth and the last direct entry spot to the playoffs.

The Hawks, with 27 points apiece from CJ McCollum and Jalen Johnson, downed Eastern Conference leaders Detroit 130-129 in overtime.

- Celtics silence Thunder -

Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City also fell, their 12-game winning streak snapped by the Celtics in Boston.

Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and Jayson Tatum added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who trailed by 13 in the first quarter.

Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, making 10 of his 12 attempts from the field for the Thunder.

He handed out eight assists but had little scoring support as center Chet Holmgren scored just 10 points and Jalen Williams added seven.

"This is a big-time win for us," Brown said. "Obviously OKC is the hottest team in the league. We wanted to come out and show that we can play against anybody."

The Pistons, still without star Cade Cunningham as he recovers from a collapsed lung, stumbled at home.

Jalen Duren scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who trailed by as many as 21 before forcing overtime.

McCollum converted a three-point play midway through overtime that put the Hawks ahead for good.

The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a defeat in Detroit with a 137-130 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Luka Doncic scored 43 points with six rebounds and seven assists and LeBron James added a near triple-double of 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Austin Reaves chipped in 25 points.

The Lakers led by as many as 29 points. They were up by 23 early in the fourth quarter before the Pacers cut the deficit to nine, James and Doncic making a pair of free throws apiece to give the Lakers breathing room again.

M.Zhou--ThChM