Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid says he won't force himself to play more games to meet the NBA MVP requirement if he's not healthy enough to play.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder closed a season-high, seven-game homestand by beating the San Antonio Spurs 130-114.

Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns overwhelmed San Antonio 133-95, handing the Spurs their 11th straight loss.

Zion Williamson scored 30 points and matched a career high with 15 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans rolled to a 117-99 victory Friday night over the San Antonio Spurs, who were without coach Gregg Popovich.

Brookly Nets guard Ben Simmons is ready for his hostile homecoming in Philadelphia.

Anthony Davis had 30 points and 18 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-92 to win three straight games for the first time since the first week of January.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is sitting out San Antonio’s game against the Lakers with an illness.

Doug McDermott hit four 3-pointers and scored all 14 of his points in the second half and the San Antonio Spurs beat Philadelphia 114-105 on Saturday night to send the 76ers to their third straight loss to open the season.

Wesley Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.8 seconds left to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 90-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brett Brown will be back as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, the team announced Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers have to figure out if Ben Simmons can be fixed in the offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers face an uncertain future after an early exit in the playoffs.

Seth Curry scored 20 points, Joel Embiid had 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers clinched the top seed for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference with a 122-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2021, file photo, Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts after making a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Philadelphia. “The fans are always there for me when I play,” Embiid said. Ad“It’s nice to have a big guy in the MVP talk,” Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal told The Associated Press. AdHe is trying to become the first Sixer to win NBA MVP — the fans call it an MVBiid campaign — since Iverson in 2001. Nobody can guard you.’ I think that’s a big reason he’s having the season he’s having.”Morey, though, is fine with Embiid shooting from deep.

Simmons says hes 100% healthy following surgery on his left knee in August that kept him from playing in the postseason. “I mean, you can’t just come into a situation like the bubble if you guys aren’t ready and don’t have that chemistry and accountability already,” Simmons said Friday. The same team Rivers coached last season that blew a 3-1 playoff series lead in the Western Conference semis and led him to leaving Los Angeles? Simmons said accountability -- the new buzzword in Philly - starts with the players. I think Doc would say the same thing, I go out there and make plays.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHILADELPHIA – Doc Rivers takes over a team tasked not with leading a Process-type rebuild or massaging the egos of two talented — yet frustrating — All-Stars. Enter Rivers, the 58-year-old former NBA guard who coached the Boston Celtics to the championship in 2008 and another NBA Finals appearance in 2010. Just two days after he split with the Los Angeles Clippers, Rivers was in Philadelphia with ownership and general manager Elton Brand, and on Thursday he accepted the job to succeed Brett Brown. If good things are going to happen in Philadelphia, Rivers needs more than social media support out of the talented 7-footer who has battled injuries and struggled with conditioning. “Embiid is a better scorer, obviously, and does things, and size, you can’t plan for that,” Rivers said at the time.

PHILADELPHIA – There's a new Doc in Philadelphia — one charged with reviving a 76ers organization that fell far short of NBA championship expectations. Rivers earned the Doc nickname by the late college coach Rick Majerus from wearing a T-shirt of former 76ers great “Dr. Rivers is 943-681 in nearly 21 seasons as an NBA coach. He was the 1999-00 NBA Coach of the Year. “The 76ers ownership group made an excellent decision hiring Coach Doc Rivers.

PHILADELPHIA The next coach of the Philadelphia 76ers can count on having Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. I would love to see this group with Ben Simmons, but I dont want to make any excuses. The new coach also has got to find that balance on how to push these All-Star players to that next stage. You have a great mix of veteran players, young players learning how to win in this game. Ive grown as a leader and Ive grown as a general manager, Brand said.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts after receiving a technical foul during the third quarter of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)PHILADELPHIA The Philadelphia 76ers fired coach Brett Brown on Monday, a day after his seventh season ended in a postseason sweep. The 76ers were 43-30 this season and had woefully underachieved in a year when they were expected to be serious contenders in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they weren't close, and the move was expected after the sixth-seeded Sixers were swept by the Boston Celtics. Brown had guided the 76ers back from the bottom of the NBA but someone else will try to take them further. I have a tremendous level of respect for Brett both personally and professionally and appreciate all hes done for the 76ers organization and the City of Philadelphia, genreal manager Elton Brand said in a statement.

The 76ers announced Saturday that Simmons will be leaving the NBAs season-restart bubble at Walt Disney World. Simmons left Philadelphias game against Washington on Wednesday midway through the third quarter because of injury, officially diagnosed as a subluxation of the left patella. Tests performed since revealed a loose body inside the knee, which led to the decision for surgery. After consultation with the 76ers medical staff and several specialists, Ben Simmons will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a loose body in his left knee, the 76ers said on Saturday in a team release. Simmons is averaging 16.4 points, 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds this season, and his 35.4 minutes per game leads the 76ers.

There was no immediate word from the 76ers on the extent of Simmons injury, which occurred as he landed awkwardly after grabbing an offensive rebound. Tobias Harris added 17 points for the 76ers, who pulled within a game of the Pacers for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. This was the the second game in a five-game stretch in which the 76ers play opponents currently seeded seventh or lower in their respective conference. Wizards: Bryant recorded his third straight double-double and had three blocks. Wizards: Play Pelicans on Friday.

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2020, file photo, Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid celebrates after a three-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Philadelphia. 76ers coach Brett Brown says All-Stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are healthy for the NBA restart. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown says All-Star guard Ben Simmons is good to go for the NBA restart after sitting out the final games before the shutdown with a back injury. Brown, whose contract runs through 2021-22, also expected fellow All-Star Joel Embiid to start the season in the best shape of his professional career. There is nobody on our team that has put in more time than Joel Embiid, Brown said.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Golden State coach Steve Kerr was supposed to be in Tokyo for the Olympics this summer. Then again, Kerr isn't certain if he or anyone else from the NBA will be there at all. FIBA pushed back the dates for the four remaining qualifying tournaments to June 29 through July 4, 2021, meaning they would end 19 days before the rescheduled start of the delayed Tokyo Olympics. Toronto coach Nick Nurse is scheduled to coach Canada in that qualifying tournament and, he hopes, the Olympics. Nurse, Popovich and Kerr surely arent the only coaches wondering on this point.

SAN ANTONIO – The worst team in the NBA will try to gain some traction against one of the best when the Philadelphia 76ers host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. “I thought we did a good job offensively for the large majority of the game,” Brown told reporters. San Antonio Spurs Wins/Losses vs. “You can see he adds a burst to our program,” Brown told reporters. San Antonio leading scorer Kawhi Leonard (21.6) sat out the Nov. 14 meeting.