McCain, Maxey step up to end 76ers' losing streak

It was an unhappy trip back to the Wells Fargo Centre for Ben Simmons as Philadelphia snapped a five-game NBA losing streak to post a comfortable 113-98 victory over the visiting Brooklyn.

Friday's victory was achieved without stars Joel Embid (knee injury) and Paul George (left knee bone bruise), and it was left up to Jared McCain (30 points) and Tyrese Maxey (26) to step up to the breach.

Philadelphia's young back-court took over in the fourth quarter with an extended scoring burst that helped the Sixers rally from a nine-point deficit.

Rookie McCain posted his seventh consecutive game scoring 20-plus points, and his second professional game with at least 30, shooting 11-of-20 from the floor and 6-of-11 from three-point range.

One of McCain's triples ignited an 18-4 Sixers run in the third quarter, turning the game around after Brooklyn threatened to pull away.

The match marked an uneventful return for Simmons, who enjoyed 26 minutes of game time for just two points, four rebounds and four assists.

Kelly Oubre Jr added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers (3-12, 1-2 NBA Cup), who won just their third game of the season and for the first time in regulation.

Brooklyn were led by Cameron Johnson, who scored 37 points. Keon Johnson added 18 points for the Nets (6-10, 1-2 NBA Cup), who have lost four of their past five games.

Both Embiid, who helped the US win gold in the Paris Olympics, and George are expected to miss Sunday's game against the LA Clippers.

In Chicago, Josh Giddey earned Aussie bragging rights when his Bulls scored a 136-122 NBA Cup win at home over compatriot Dyson Daniels' Atlanta Hawks.

Giddey put his 33 minutes of court time to good use, collecting six rebounds, eight assists and clocking up 18 points for Chicago.

Daniels was on the court for 32 minutes, contributing five rebounds, four assists and eight points for the visiting Hawks.

For Chicago, Zach LaVine scored 26 points, Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White each had 20, and Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double.

Giddey's 18 points meant that all five of the Bulls' starters - and two bench players - reached double figures.

The Bulls (7-10) beat Atlanta (7-10) for the second time this season and improved to 1-1 in NBA Cup play.

Trae Young had 25 points and 13 assists for Atlanta, while Jalen Johnson finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

In Washington, Jaylen Brown scored 31 points as the Boston Celtics overcame an off night for Jayson Tatum to beat the Wizards 108-96.

The Celtics (13-3) improved to 2-1 in East Group C of this competition with one game remaining. Washington (2-12) are 0-2 and have lost 10 in a row overall.

Washington trailed by five in the final minute when Brown made a high arcing jumper to make it 99-92 with 46 seconds remaining.

Tatum went 0-for-10 from three-point range and scored 16 points, although a couple free throws with 11 seconds left enabled him to extend his streak to 55 consecutive games with at least 15 points.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points.

Golden State (12-3) also posted a win on the road by taking care of New Orleans (4-13), winning 112-108.

Andrew Wiggins (28 points) and Stephen Curry (19) were the major contributors for the Warriors, while Trey Murphy (24) and Brandon Ingram (18) enjoyed the most points for the hosts.

In Houston, the Rockets (12-5) scored a comfortable 116-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers (6-10), and in Milwaukee the Bucks (7-9) accounted for the visiting Indiana Pacers (6-10) in a 129-117 victory.

In Denver, the Dallas Mavricks (9-7) scored a 123-120 win over the Nuggets (8-6), and in Los Angeles the Clippers (10-7) were too good for the visiting Sacramento (8-8), beating the Kings 109-88.