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BOSTON -- Joel Embiid popped up from a pregame fall and scored 27 points with nine rebounds, making 4 of 5 from 3-point range and sinking a pair of free throws with 3 seconds left to turn back Boston's final rally and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-114 victory on Wednesday.
Tyrese Maxey had 33 points and 12 assists. He scored 13 in the fourth quarter, including a quick-trigger layup to open a seven-point lead with about a minute left after the Sixers inbounded the ball with 1.1 seconds on the shot clock. Caleb Martin scored 23, hitting 7 of 9 from 3-point range.
Jayson Tatum scored 32 with 15 rebounds for Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 23 and Derrick White had 21. Boston wore red socks and leggings with their green jerseys for an extra dose of Christmas spirit.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed all but nine games this season with injuries, did not return for the second half. The team said he had an ankle injury.
Wolves beat Mavs
DALLAS -- Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 105-99 victory over Dallas after Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic left the game with a strained left calf.
A rematch of last season's Western Conference finals won by Dallas fell flat when Doncic pulled up lame while running a play late in the second quarter. Then it got wild when the Mavs erased almost all of a 28-point deficit in the second half.
It was Doncic's second game back after missing two with a left heel contusion. Kyrie Irving scored 39 points but was short on a 3-pointer that would have put the Mavs ahead in the final minute.
Knicks triumph
NEW YORK -- Victor Wembanyama nearly obliterated the Spurs' Christmas record book in his first time playing on the holiday.
Nearly won the game, too.
His 42 points and 18 rebounds could only get San Antonio close before falling short, with the New York Knicks pulling out a 117-114 victory.
Wembanyama left Madison Square Garden with one of the greatest Christmas debuts in NBA history but without the thing he coveted most.
"I'm thinking about the game right now," he said after a long pause, "and just thinking that we were close but we lack some attributes at times."
Wembanyama stared at the box score on the table in front of him as he spoke, and his line on it was eye-popping. Besides the 42 points and 18 boards, he had six 3-pointers, four blocked shots and four assists.
Only Wilt Chamberlain (45 in 1959) and Tracy McGrady (43 in 2000) had more points in their first time playing on Christmas. LaMarcus Aldridge had the previous highest total for a San Antonio player, scoring 33 in 2016.
"We expect that from him," Spurs veteran Chris Paul said. "Us that see him day in and day out, we're not surprised by that. I think, for us, the next step is winning those games."
Wembanyama was just short of the Spurs' record for rebounds on Christmas, with Hall of Famer David Robinson grabbing 19 in 1999.
He had a couple of chances in the final minute, but neither he nor any other Spurs could grab two missed shots by the Knicks in the last 30 seconds. Josh Hart got them both, allowing the Knicks to run out the clock.
"It sure feels like you can't do anything about it, but this is why you have to do everything you can before when you can," Wembanyama said.