James Harden and Clippers lose their first meeting with Philadelphia since the trade, 121-107

LOS ANGELES — Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Tyrese Maxey added 19 of his 24 in the second half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-107 victory over James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Harden had 12 points and 14 assists in his first game against the 76ers since he forced his way out of Philadelphia last November. After going 0 for 6 on 3-pointers to jeers from a small but vocal cheering section of Sixers fans in Los Angeles, the 10-time All-Star and 2018 MVP will head back to Philadelphia with the Clippers on Wednesday for the rematch.

Harden didn’t speak to the media after this game, but his former teammates with Philly were complimentary after soundly beating his new team.

“James is a hell of a player, and I always have a huge amount of respect for him,” Harris said. “It’s good to see him in LA flourishing and playing his game, just balling out. It’s all love and respect. He’s a Hall of Fame player, and for me it was an honor being here playing with him. To see him on the other side happy and enjoying what he’s doing, that’s really what the game is all about.”

Cameron Payne had a season-high 23 points with five 3-pointers for the Sixers, who rebounded from a loss to the Lakers on Friday by hitting 18 3-pointers in just their fourth victory in 11 games.

Philadelphia blew an early 17-point lead over the Clips before taking control with a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter led by Maxey, who started slowly and finished strong for the second straight game in LA.

“We finally put two halves together, and it felt good,” Payne said. “Shots were falling. Everybody came locked in today. Shots were falling, and everybody played the right way.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Paul George had 18 for the Clippers, who have lost five of eight and haven’t beaten a team with a winning record in three weeks. Norman Powell scored 20 points after returning from a three-game absence with a leg bruise, but the Clippers couldn’t keep up with the Sixers’ outside shooting.

“We know we’ve got to play better basketball going into the playoffs, or it’s going to be an early season,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Still got full confidence in this team and full confidence in what we can do. It’s just (about) going out and doing it every single night – not 26 minutes, (but) 48 minutes of doing the right things.”

Harden played in just 79 regular-season games during 21 tumultuous months with the Sixers, who traded Ben Simmons to acquire him from Brooklyn in February 2022. Harden led the NBA in assists last season while boosting Joel Embiid in his MVP campaign before Philly lost a seven-game series to Boston in the second round of the playoffs.

The 34-year-old Harden picked up his contract option to return to Philadelphia last summer, but abruptly requested a trade several weeks later. He then criticized Sixers president of basketball operations Darryl Morey, reportedly calling the executive “a liar” at an Adidas event in China.

Philadelphia still kept Harden on its roster until Nov. 1, when Morey dealt the Los Angeles native to his preferred destination for a package headlined by Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington and KJ Martin.

“It was crazy when it was happening,” Philadelphia’s Paul Reed said. “I was upset, but I wasn’t like, upset-upset. I was still cool. … It does feel like that happened last year. You know how long the season is.”

Harden has been largely outstanding with Los Angeles, averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 assists while boosting the Clippers to a top-four spot in the Western Conference.

Before this game, both coaches downplayed the importance of the reunion — although 76ers coach Nick Nurse acknowledged “it might get a little bit different on the other end.” Nurse was referring to Wednesday, when the Clippers visit Philadelphia.

“I didn’t really hear any, ‘Oh, we’re playing (Harden), we’re playing (the Clippers),’” said Payne, who joined the Sixers last month. “I feel like we just handled our business, and it showed on the court.”

Batum didn’t play in his return to LA, but got cheers from fans who loved him during his three-plus seasons with the Clippers.

Even after a Saturday night off in Los Angeles, the Sixers hit 20 of their first 28 shots and took a 17-point lead in the first half, shaking off the poor shooting that plagued an otherwise solid performance against the Lakers. The Clippers rallied to tie it in the third quarter, but never led.

BUCKS 118, THUNDER 93

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, Khris Middleton recorded his second career triple-double and the Milwaukee Bucks trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Middleton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since Jan. 20, 2018.

Milwaukee broke open a close game in the second half as Oklahoma City fell out of the Western Conference lead. The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets didn’t play Sunday and moved a half-game ahead of the Thunder.

Oklahoma City posted its lowest point total and shot its lowest percentage (.371) of the season. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points — the first time since Jan. 19 he was held below 20 — and sat out the entire fourth quarter after the Bucks had built a lopsided lead.

76ERS 121, CLIPPERS 107

LOS ANGELES — Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Tyrese Maxey added 19 of his 24 in the second half of Philadelphia’s victory over James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Harden had 12 points and 14 assists in his first game against the 76ers since he forced his way out of Philadelphia last November. After going 0 for 6 on 3-pointers to jeers from a small but vocal cheering section of Sixers fans in Los Angeles, the 10-time All-Star and 2018 MVP will head back to Philadelphia with the Clippers on Wednesday for the rematch.

Cameron Payne had a season-high 23 points with five 3-pointers for the Sixers, who rebounded from a loss to the Lakers on Friday by hitting 18 3-pointers in just their fourth victory in 11 games.

Philadelphia blew an early 17-point lead over the Clips before taking control with a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter led by Maxey, who started slowly and finished strong for the second straight game in LA.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Paul George had 18 for the Clippers, who have lost five of eight and haven’t beaten a team with a winning record in three weeks

TIMBERWOLVES 114, WARRIORS 110

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds for Minnesota in a victory over Golden State.

Naz Reid had 20 points and a season-high-tying 12 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who matched their season best with 21 made 3-pointers.

Steph Curry scored 31 points for the Warriors, but he missed the tying 3-point try with 1:27 to go. Gobert converted both free throws at the other end for a five-point lead.

After rebounding a forced airballed 3-pointer by Edwards with 22.6 seconds left, Curry took the rebound all the way for a layup that cut the lead to one. But Edwards got fouled and made two foul shots. Then, he rebounded Klay Thompson’s missed 3-pointer from the wing.

Mike Conley added 14 points and seven assists for the Wolves, who are one game behind Denver in the Western Conference race and a half-game back of Oklahoma City. The Nuggets passed the Thunder, who lost at Milwaukee on Sunday.

PELICANS 114, PISTONS 104

DETROIT, Mich. — Zion Williamson scored 36 points and led New Orleans to a victory over short-handed Detroit.

Williamson shot 13 for 14 from the floor and 10 for 14 from the line in 36 minutes. He added seven rebounds and six assists and received applause from the crowd at Little Caesars Arena when he left the game with 1:20 remaining.

CJ McCollum scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who have won five of six.

The Pistons played without four of their five starters. Cade Cunningham (knee), Jalen Duren (back), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness) missed the game, and sixth man Simone Fontecchio (toe) was also sidelined. Jaden Ivey was the only available player to have scored more than 500 points this season.

Chimezu Metu and Malachi Flynn each scored 17 points for Detroit, which lost its sixth straight. Ivey added 16 points and Buddy Boeheim had a career-high 13. The Pistons need four wins in their last 11 games to avoid exceeding the franchise record of 66 losses.

HEAT 121, CAVALIERS 84

MIAMI — Haywood Highsmith scored 18 points, part of a 59-point effort by Miami’s reserves, and the Heat built what was their biggest lead in more than a decade on the way to beating Cleveland.

Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 16 rebounds and Jimmy Butler scored 15 points for the Heat, who led by 45 in the fourth quarter. Their biggest lead this season entering Sunday was 33, also against Cleveland on Nov. 22, and the 45-point cushion was their largest since leading Chicago by 46 in a playoff game on May 8, 2013.

Miami started the day seventh in the Eastern Conference and ended there as well, tied with Philadelphia at 39-32. The 76ers won at the Los Angeles Clippers earlier Sunday, but currently trail the Heat because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Evan Mobley scored 15 points for Cleveland, which lost for the seventh time in 10 games but remained No. 3 in the East, a half-game ahead of New York.

Terry Rozier and Thomas Bryant each scored 14 for Miami.