Untitled (How does it Phil?)

The Sixers close out a big win over the Celtics to hit No. 1 in the East. Plus: Anthony Edwards will melt your face and the Lakers are In Trouble.

Good morning.

"Baudelaire’s Mistress (Portrait of Jeanne Duval)"; Eduoard Manet; 1862

Let’s basketball.

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Scores

Celtics 103, Sixers 106 | Full game highlights
Another win for your Philadelphia 76ers. Never mind that they led by 15 in the fourth and the Celtics had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds. Never mind that!

Joel Embiid is doing everything right this season with the exception of protecting the ball. The two-man game with Tyrese Maxey? Brilliant. The post game? Brilliant. The defense? Brilliant. It’s all working, and when it’s working, the Sixers are really hard to beat.

Maxey, meanwhile, is clearly going to be an All-Star. He’s currently on track to contend for an All-NBA spot, too. Get that well of ink ready, Daryl Morey! You’re giving this dude the biggest number next summer.

Kristaps Porzingis was amazing in ways the Celtics really have not had … in a long, long time. He definitely adds a different dimension that should pay off long-term, both vertically near the rim and horizontally with his perimeter shooting. This is kind of a perfect fit for him, provided Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown play cleaner than they did on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are No. 1 in the East, and just 0.1 points per 100 possessions behind Boston for the No. 1 net rating in the entire league. And they have the picks from the Harden trade to play with on the trade market, if they want.

Jazz 118, Pacers 134 | Full game highlights
Walker Kessler is out with an injury, so Will Hardy shifted to a smaller lineup with Lauri Markkanen at center with Ochai Agbaji and John Collins up front with him. In more important news: Keyonte George picked up his first start for the Jazz as Talen Horton-Tucker moved to the bench.

None of it mattered, because the Indiana offense is HUMMING. The Pacers are No. 1 in the league in points per 100 possessions by almost 3 points over No. 2 Denver right now. Just pouring it on mediocre opponents.

Tyrese Haliburton’s passing makes the game so much easier for everyone on his team. I mean this WITH ALL DUE RESPECT: new Steve Nash?

Wizards 132, Hornets 116 | Full game highlights
Charlotte having one of the league’s worst defenses with Mark Williams at center and Steve Clifford coaching the team seems impossible, but that roster has a number of fraying seams. The Wizards found them.

I don’t think these teams are going to be in the play-in mix.

Spurs 105, Knicks 126 | Full game highlights
A Mitchell Robinson-Julius Randle frontcourt seems tailor made to bother a rookie Victor Wembanyama. ESPN got a dud in this one. Sometimes the Wembymania gambit pays off; sometimes you should have just taken Sixers-Celtics.

Knicks fans chanting “overrated” at Big Vic with your team up 29 in the third, I have two thoughts for you.

First, never change. Second, you’re going to someday regret this, becuase this dude will remember it and pay you back with interest in the future.

Frankly, he didn’t seem that impressed with the arena before the game either.

Clippers 93, Nets 100 | Full game highlights
Look at Nets fans booing James Harden on the opening possession.

And look at Nets fans chanting “Daryl Morey” at Harden when he was taking free throws.

And look at Harden firing a pass into Sarah Kustok’s coffee. Impressive.

And look at the Clippers falling to 0-2 in the Harden era, with Harden registered the team’s worst plus-minus for the second straight game. Ty Lue matched his minutes mostly with Paul George this time around, which didn’t really seem to work. There’s time to figure it out, and Lue is fully capable.

The Nets are No. 9 in offense and No. 24 in defense, just as everyone predicted.

Cavaliers 120, Thunder 128 | Full game highlights
43 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the win.

Fun fact: since they were traded for each other, Shai has played in 113 regular season wins for the Thunder and Paul George has played in 125 regular season wins for the Clippers.

Pelicans 101, Timberwolves 122 | Full game highlights
Here’s what this highlight looks like in the play-by-play.

This is why Al Gore invented television. Because you need to see this. (I hope you can see this in your country!)

What the box score calls a Naz Reid steal and an Anthony Edwards dunk is actually a Naz Reid steal and spin move to spark a break with a pass-ahead to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who goes off the glass to Anthony Edwards for a dunk to put the Timberwolves up 28 in the third. You know how chess notation includes !s to signify very good moves. NBA play-by-play needs that.

This Ant Man block should get it, too.

Look at the effort up 25 late in the second. Edwards takes this stuff personal.

The Wolves took control of this game in the second quarter and never even considered looking back. Zion Williamson didn’t suit up due to the apparent birth of his first child. Best wishes to the family.

Rudy Gobert is playing his tail off. He’s making an impact every night.

Pistons 118, Bucks 120 | Full game highlights
The game officials in this one had a bit of Main Character Syndrome and hit Giannis Antetokounmpo with his second tech over a brief post-dunk stare into Isaiah Stewart’s soul.