PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bruce Brown scored 19 points and got the winning bucket in overtime off a goaltending call on Joel Embiid, and Jalen Pickett had 29 points to lead the short-handed Denver Nuggets to a 125-124 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Embiid was whistled for the decisive goaltend when he tried to block Brown's running layup with 5.3 seconds left. Tyrese Maxey missed a winning floater for the Sixers at the horn.
Embiid scored 32 points — the fourth time in his last eight games he has scored 30 — and Maxey had 28
The Nuggets played without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic — out at least until the end of the month with a with a hyperextended left knee — Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and others a night after a loss at Brooklyn.
The entire regular starting lineup sat out, and the Nuggets had only nine available players.
Peyton Watson added 24 points for Denver.
The Nuggets refused to use their lighter roster as an excuse to pack it in against the Sixers.
Hunter Tyson converted a four-point play that gave Denver a 102-100 lead in the fourth and Pickett followed with a 2-footer that forced the 76ers into a timeout and served as the highlights of a 14-0 run.
Brown snapped a tie game with a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 free throws for a 120-115 lead when he was fouled on a 3-pointer on the next possession. That miss in the middle doomed Denver in regulation.
VJ Edgecombe hit a 3 that made it 120-118 and Maxey tied the game on a driving layup with 49 seconds left that sent the game into OT tied 120-all. Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick of the draft and having a sensational rookie season, also gave the Sixers their last lead in OT on a dunk just before Brown's goaltended winner.
The 76ers returned from a 3-2 road trip — that included all three wins on the backend.
Up next
Denver plays Wednesday at Boston.
The 76ers host Washington on Wednesday.
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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
