Results from games today, how to live stream, standings, schedule, Josh Giddey,

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points, while Josh Giddey’s brilliant second NBA season continued as the Thunder avenged a 19-point New Year’s Eve loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers fell 133-114 to the Oklahoma City Thunder to lose ground to Cleveland in the battle for fourth place in the east.

Coming off a sixth career triple-double in his last start, Giddey finished with 20 points – 11 came in the fourth quarter – from seven-of-14 shooting, as well as eight assists, four rebounds and a steal in 36 minutes.

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It was the sixth time in his past 10 games that Giddey had reached the 20-point mark. He’s now averaged 18.8 points from his past eight matches.

The Thunder’s win improved their record to 19-23, meaning they’re now within reach of a play-offs berth.

“It shows that we belong,” Giddey told reporters post-game.

“You see a lot of teams rest their better players against us, but we‘ve shown that we can compete with the best teams in the league when we’re switched on from the jump.”

For Philadelphia, Joel Embiid scored 30 points – including 10-from-10 at the free throw line – and pulled down 10 rebounds. It was his third straight game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and a free throw percentage of 100.

As per ESPN, Embiid became just the second player in NBA history – after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 – to record 30 points, 10 rebounds and a free throw percentage of 100 in three consecutive matches.

Despite the efforts from Embiid and 76ers teammate James Harden (24 points and 15 assists), the Thunder connected on 51.2 per cent of their shots from the field, including 14 three-pointers, to spring the surprise.

LILLARD’S HALF-CENTURY NOT ENOUGH FOR PORTLAND

In Portland, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points as the Cavaliers withstood a 50-point performance from Damian Lillard in a 119-113 come-from-behind victory over the Trail Blazers.

Mitchell’s jump shot with 4:40 to play put Cleveland up for the first time in the game and they held on for the victory.

Jarrett Allen added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland and Ricky Rubio scored nine points in his first game in more than a year.

Rubio had been sidelined since suffering a torn left knee ligament in December of 2021.

“I think it gave us an extra boost,” Allen said of Rubio’s return. “To finally see him back out here… it’s a joy for us all.”

The Cavs strengthened their hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference, moving a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers

NETS FALL IN FIRST GAME SINCE KD BLOW

The Boston Celtics clawed out a 109-98 victory over Brooklyn on Thursday, pulling away late to boost their NBA-best record and widen the distance over the Nets atop…