Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Bradley Beal added 29 and the visiting Washington Wizards snapped a three-game losing skid Wednesday at the expense of the Philadelphia 76ers’ three-game winning streak, 121-111.

Though a tight game most of the way, Washington never relinquished its lead after pulling ahead late in the first quarter.

The Wizards’ advantage never expanded to more than 12 points. However, they kept the 76ers — playing without Joel Embiid due to a non-COVID illness — at bay thanks in part to a massive 68-38 scoring advantage in the paint.

Porzingis, in particular, flourished on the interior, hitting all five of his shot attempts in the lane. He shot 9-for-13 from the floor overall.

Beal also thrived on the inside with seven field goals made in the paint, all at the rim. He shot 11 of 17, while Kyle Kuzma — who chipped in 18 points and eight rebounds — went 8 of 12 from the floor.

Porzingis, Beal and Kuzma helped buoy Washington to 57.7 percent shooting as a team.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, shot just 46.4 percent for the game.

The 76ers relied heavily on the 3-pointer without their big man Embiid available and connected on 19 of 36 attempts. Tyrese Maxey shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, part of his game-high 32 points.

Tobias Harris shot 4-for-5 from deep en route to 16 points while James Harden went 3-of-8 shooting outside and finished with 24 points.

Washington’s 121 points marked a season-high as the Wizards pulled out of their three-game funk, which included a loss at home Monday to the 76ers.

Six Wizards in total scored in double-figures on Wednesday, including Rui Hachimura, who recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Will Barton added 11 points and Daniel Gafford provided 10 points in just over 11 minutes of play.

–Field Level Media

The Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving released a joint statement Wednesday and pledged to donate $1 million to combat “hate and intolerance,” a response to Irving’s support of a movie that did just that by promoting antisemitic tropes.

Irving in the statement said he “meant no harm.”

Notably, Irving did not apologize for linking to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” that he shared four days prior to removing the link Sunday. Nor did he renounce it.

Irving has embroiled the Nets’ organization in controversy since his support of the movie first surfaced.

“I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day,” Irving said in Wednesday’s statement. “I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles.

“I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light.”

According to the statement, the Nets and Irving “will each donate $500,000 toward causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.”

Further, Irving and the Nets will work with the Anti-Defamation League to fight “antisemitism and all types of hate that undermine justice and fair treatment for every individual.”

“There is no room for antisemitism, racism, false narratives or misguided attempts to create animosity and hate,” said Sam Zussman, CEO of BSE Global, parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. “Now, more than ever, there is a pressing need to ensure education in these areas. We are putting our prior statements into practice because actions speak louder than words.”

“Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” traces the theory that Jews claimed the religion and identity of the original Israelites, which prompted the enslavement of Africans then brought to America.

Irving hasn’t backpedaled since sharing the post, which was criticized by Nets’ ownership. When pressed on why he shared the film and supported its message on Saturday, Irving took a detour.

“My response would be it’s not about educating yourself on what Semitism is and what antisemitism is, it’s about learning the root words of where these come from and understanding this is an African heritage that is also belonging to the people. Africa is in it whether we want to dismiss it or not. So the claims of antisemitism and who are the chosen people of God and we go into these religious conversations and it’s a big no-no. I don’t live my life that way.”

–Field Level Media

If Ime Udoka is allowed to coach the Brooklyn Nets weeks after being banished from the bench in Boston, Celtics guard Marcus Smart would like a word.

In fact, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year wouldn’t mind some answers right now.

“We thought they just suspended him for the year and he’d be back. That’s why it’s confusing,” Smart said of Udoka emerging as the favorite to coach arguably Boston’s biggest rival. “I think it left a lot of people just like, ‘What the hell is going on here?'”

When Udoka was suspended before the start of training camp for what the Celtics would only describe as an inappropriate relationship with a team employee, Smart said he still had “love for Ime as a person,” but “it’s been hell for us.”

Smart said players are conflicted over the news that Udoka, a former assistant in Brooklyn, is the chosen replacement for Steve Nash with the Nets.

“His name got slandered and slaughtered and it was ‘He’ll probably never coach again,'” Smart said. “And a couple months later he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals. It’s tough. It makes no sense.”

The Celtics won the Eastern Conference and went to the NBA Finals under Udoka’s guidance. The Celtics announced before training camp that a violation of team policies related to an intimate relationship with a female staff member forced the franchise to suspend the coach and promote Joe Mazzulla to the interim post.

Nets general manager Sean Marks and Udoka were assistant coaches together with the San Antonio Spurs.

Guard Jaylen Brown was more upbeat about the news on Wednesday.

“It would’ve been awesome if we could’ve figured out a way for it to be with us,” Brown said. “But I guess that wasn’t the case. I’m just happy to see a Black head coach end up back on his feet because I’ve seen situations where (with) something like this … might not have been the case.”

The Nets are 2-6 after losing to the Chicago Bulls in their first game without Nash.

–Field Level Media

The last time the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder faced off — Oct. 22 in Denver — chants of “MVP” echoed throughout the arena for Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

Jokic earned the chants, both with his triple-double performance in that game and with his track record in winning the award the past two seasons.

When the Thunder beat the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City crowd directed similar chants toward Thunder standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

It’s still early in the season, but entering Thursday night’s meeting between the Nuggets and host Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander certainly is playing at an extremely high level.

In six games, he is averaging 31.5 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks.

The offensive contributions aren’t new for Gilgeous-Alexander, but his game continues to grow, especially on the defensive end.

“I still don’t think he’s playing his best basketball for 48 (minutes) at least,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Gilgeous-Alexander figures to have a chance to show off his defensive improvement against the Nuggets.

In the earlier meeting, a 122-117 Denver win, Gilgeous-Alexander had a steal and was held without a block, though he did have 28 points and seven assists.

If the Nuggets were worn down the last time they took on Oklahoma City — the game was the last in a three-games-in-four-nights stretch for Denver — they figure to be well-rested for this one.

The Nuggets haven’t played since Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Denver is just 1-3 on the road, with defense being a primary reason why.

“We have yet to play any defense in a road game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We let guys get comfortable.”

The Nuggets are allowing an average of more than 125 points per game on the road and have the NBA’s worst road defensive rating so far, allowing 123.6 points per 100 possessions.

Oklahoma City has been among the league’s best on defense at home this season, with a 104.4 defensive rating.

While Denver has struggled defensively on the road, its offense hasn’t fared nearly as poorly.

One of the reasons has been the improvement of Michael Porter Jr. from distance. Porter is shooting 48.9 percent from beyond the arc after shooting 41.9 percent in his first three seasons.

“Fifty percent (from) three, to me, is not an unrealistic number,” Porter said.

Denver hopes to get Bones Hyland back after the reserve guard missed Sunday’s game with a left-hip strain.

Hyland was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice.

The Thunder appear to be at their healthiest this season after getting Josh Giddey back for Tuesday’s win after he missed three games due to an ankle injury. Rookie Jalen Williams, who missed the first matchup with the Nuggets after suffering a fractured orbital bone in the season opener, also recently returned.

Thursday’s game will be the second in a stretch in which Denver will play 10 of 13 games on the road.

Jokic recorded 19 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists in the first meeting with Oklahoma City.

The game will mark the end of a stretch for the Thunder in which five of six games are at home.

–Field Level Media

The Golden State Warriors hope to vent the frustration of what they considered to be poor officiating in their previous game when they visit the injury-plagued Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

Golden State has lost three in a row to begin a five-game swing. After disappointing themselves in losses at Charlotte and Detroit, the Warriors blamed the officials for Tuesday’s 116-109 defeat at Miami.

A key play in the close game occurred with 1:39 to play and Golden State trailing 112-109.

Warriors star Stephen Curry thought he was headed to the free-throw line for three shots when a foul was called on Jimmy Butler on a 3-point attempt. But after review, the refs overturned the call, awarding the ball to Miami, saying Butler’s contact came after he got a hand on the ball.

The ruling upset Curry.

“It’s an awful call,” he said after the game. “… It’s tough when I clearly felt a lot of contact. I don’t know what they saw beside the high-five contact (on Curry’s hand) they’re talking about, but you gotta be allowed to finish your motion. Especially when you slow it down in slo-mo, it’s pretty clear there’s a lot of contact, but what do I know about calls?”

The Warriors never scored again.

Asked about the officiating afterward, Golden State coach Steve Kerr chose to concentrate on three “discontinued dribble” infractions whistled on Jordan Poole.

“I was shocked because basically the whole league does that,” Kerr said of a violation otherwise known as carrying the ball. “They’ve been doing it ever since (former Philadelphia 76ers star) Allen Iverson convinced the referees that it wasn’t a carry. It is a carry. What Jordan does is a carry, but the whole league’s been doing it.”

Curry finished with a triple-double (23 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists), but it wasn’t enough to get the defending NBA champions their first road win of the season. They are now 0-4 away from home.

The Magic can relate. They fell to 0-6 on the road with a 116-108 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Already without injured Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac and Moe Wagner, the Magic had hoped the return of Jalen Suggs against the Thunder could move the team in a healthier direction.

Playing for the first time since suffering a sprained right ankle in the second game of the season, Suggs was able to log 28 minutes off the bench, recording nine points and four assists.

But even before he entered the game, the Magic lost another front-line player when Terrence Ross bruised his left knee in the first quarter. He did not return and is questionable for the Golden State game.

Ross had been part of a lineup in which the Magic started all players 6-foot-7 or taller against the Thunder. The tallest of the group — 7-foot-2 Bol Bol — gave a thumbs-up to the look after recording a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.

“It’s been extremely fun because we are all extremely talented,” Bol observed. “We’re all capable of making plays for each other, rebounding and blocking shots — and we can all push the ball. It’s very different for other teams.”

–Field Level Media