Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey will be out approximately 3 to 4 weeks with a bone injury in his left foot, The Athletic reported Saturday.

He left Friday night’s 110-102 win against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks after appearing to twist his left ankle with 1:34 remaining in the first half.

Maxey, 22, scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting before the injury. He is averaging 22.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 15 starts, shooting 42.2 percent from 3-point range.

A first-round draft pick out of Kentucky in 2020, Maxey has career averages of 14.2 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 151 games (97 starts).

–Field Level Media

Teams hoping to become lucky losers in the 2022 NBA Draft lottery get an opportunity to show off their consolation prizes to one another when the Detroit Pistons visit the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon.

The Pistons and Kings both finished with bottom-seven records last season, giving each at least some optimism that luck could land them the No. 1 pick in the draft.

It didn’t pan out. The Kings moved up from No. 7 to No. 4, which was significantly better than the fate that befell the Pistons, who fell from co-favorite to the fifth spot.

After Paolo Banchero (Orlando), Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City) and Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston) were selected, the Kings had their choice of Iowa forward Keegan Murray or Purdue guard Jaden Ivey.

Sacramento chose Murray, allowing the Pistons to snatch Ivey.

So far: Advantage, Pistons. While the Kings have gotten off to a much faster start in the win column, Ivey has thus far exceeded Murray in stats.

Playing alongside Cade Cunningham until the top pick of the 2021 draft injured his shin recently, Ivey has scored in double figures in 15 of his 16 games and recorded double-doubles in three. His 17 points and five assists in Friday’s 128-121 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers left his season averages at 16.3 and 4.2, respectively.

“I love his game,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey assures. “He’s going to be a great player in our league for a long time. He just has to go through the growing pains.”

Ivey went head-to-head with No. 1 overall pick Banchero in the opener and contributed 19 points to a Pistons win. He has yet to face Holmgren, who is injured and out for the season, or Smith, and on Sunday gets his first shot at Murray.

The Kings’ prize rookie has been bothered by a sore back and sat out Thursday’s 130-112 home win over the San Antonio Spurs. The injury is not considered to be serious and he is probable to return Sunday.

Murray has averaged 12.0 points and 3.7 rebounds for a team that has been an early surprise under new coach Mike Brown. The Kings have rebounded from an 0-4 start to win eight of 10, including their last five in a row.

They’ll be looking to complete a perfect 4-0 homestand against the Pistons, having already beaten Golden State, Brooklyn and San Antonio in the past week.

Having denied their fans a first-hand view of the playoffs since 2006, the Kings have taken a “Win One For Sacramento” approach to the season.

“It’s electric,” standout guard De’Aaron Fox insisted about the fans’ response to the above-.500 start. “Whenever you’re winning in this city, it’s a very different feeling. For us, we want to continue to put on a show, continue to win — not only for ourselves, but for this fanbase.”

The Pistons have lost six in a row, including two straight to open their current six-game Western swing. Cunningham remains out indefinitely with a shin injury that is being reported as a stress fracture that might require surgery.

–Field Level Media

The Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards are coming off Friday night games that had something in common, as neither was decided in regulation.

From there, there were different routes.

So expect the Wizards to be in a little better shape when the teams meet Sunday night in Washington.

The Wizards beat the visiting Miami Heat 107-106 in overtime for their fifth victory in their last six games.

The Hornets have to search for any positives, particularly after a bizarre double-overtime loss at Cleveland.

Charlotte came back from 10 down in the final 45 seconds of regulation and then was in position to win in the first overtime before ultimately suffering its 10th loss in the last 11 games.

“You have to be able to handle disappointment, frustration and success and move on,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “There’s a lot to learn from (a game like that).”

Washington’s stretch of positive results began with a 108-100 victory Nov. 7 at Charlotte.

Kyle Kuzma of the Wizards had a team-high 20 points in that game, beginning a stretch of four outings with 20 or more points in a six-game span.

It’s no wonder Kuzma’s confidence has been soaring. He hit a game-tying 3-pointer to get Friday night’s game into overtime.

“My mindset was I’m going to jack this thing up from where I was standing or I’m just going to make a simple play and hit Kuz,” Washington guard Bradley Beal said, giving his version of endorsing the confidence he has in Kuzma.

The Hornets often bog down offensively late in the games. On Friday against Cleveland, they perked up in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cavaliers 35-23.

“Fourth quarter, our offense has been a problem,” Clifford said. “(Against Cleveland), it was terrific.”

Charlotte reserve center Nick Richards produced his third career double-double. That came in part because of a career-best 14 rebounds.

More consistency from players such as Richards would be a boost for the Hornets, whose roster tends to have players coming and going in terms of availability. Point guard LaMelo Ball is out again with an ankle injury and has played in only three games.

On the plus side, Gordon Hayward (shoulder) returned to action Friday night.

“It was great to have Gordon back,” Clifford said of the forward’s 13 points in 42 minutes of action.

Hayward was one of four Charlotte players to log 39 or more minutes, so the wear and tear factor might be worth monitoring. Even though it’s early in the season, several of the Hornets have been called upon for extensive duty because of the evolving roster.

While Charlotte’s roster seems limited to some degree, the Wizards are turning to all sorts of producers. Taj Gibson didn’t play in the first half Friday against Miami, then showed up and made key contributions.

“Taj really won the game,” Kuzma said. “Taj coming in really just changed it. … Had eight rebounds and huge defensive stops.”

Sunday’s game marks the last in Washington’s six-game homestand. The Wizards are 4-1 so far. Three of Charlotte’s four wins this season have come on the road.

–Field Level Media

Back-to-back wins over a pair of Western Conference contenders to start a pivotal road trip provided a glimpse of the consistency the New York Knicks have been seeking for most of the last two seasons.

But if Friday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors was any indication, that glimpse might have just been a mirage.

The Knicks will look to clinch a winning record on their five-game road swing Sunday afternoon when they visit the Phoenix Suns in the first clash this season between the teams.

Both clubs were off Saturday after falling Friday night, when the Knicks lost to the Warriors 111-101 and the Suns were nipped by the host Utah Jazz, 134-133.

The loss represented a step back for the Knicks, who built just their second winning streak of the season by beating the Jazz 118-111 on Tuesday night before edging the Denver Nuggets, 106-103, the next night.

But the Knicks squandered a chance to take advantage of the defending NBA champion Warriors, who were just 6-9 entering Friday night. Golden State raced to a 35-19 lead after the first quarter, led by as many as 22 points in the second quarter and never allowed New York to get closer than eight points in the second half.

“The second, third and fourth quarters, we played the way we needed to play in the first quarter,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But we had given them such a cushion that we didn’t give ourselves a real chance.”

The Knicks still have a chance at their most successful road trip in more than eight years. New York, which finishes the trip at Oklahoma City on Monday night, hasn’t posted a winning record on a road trip of five games or longer since going 3-2 on a West Coast trek from March 25-31, 2014.

“We’ve still got a chance to make it a great trip,” Knicks forward Julius Randle said. “We’ve got two more games, two more very winnable games. We’ve got a chance to make it a great trip and go back home feeling pretty good about ourselves.”

A slow start Friday was typical of an inconsistent stretch for the Suns, who have gone 3-5 since a five-game winning streak (Oct. 23 to Nov. 1). Phoenix, which beat the Warriors 130-119 on Wednesday night, had a chance to win a second straight Friday but fell behind Utah by 19 points in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.

The Suns came all the way back and tied the game twice — once in the final minute of the third and again in the opening seconds of the fourth — before Damian Lee hit a 3-pointer to give the visitors their lone lead at 121-120 with 7:28 left. But Phoenix was 3 of 14 with two turnovers the rest of the way, a span in which it missed nine shots with a chance to tie the score or retake the lead.

“We were fighting uphill all game,” said Suns guard Devin Booker, who scored 49 points but had just four points in the fourth quarter. “I think we gave them a lot of confidence to start the game.”

Suns point guard Chris Paul missed his fifth straight game with a sore right heel and has already been ruled out for Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham will be out indefinitely with a left shin injury that could require surgery, multiple outlets reported Saturday.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham last played Nov. 9. and the Pistons are 0-5 without him.

The Detroit Free Press said Cunningham, 21, is suspected to have a hairline stress fracture in his shin and surgery is an option.

Rest is an option, but even if the fracture heals without surgery, Cunningham would be out an “indefinite” amount of time, the Free Press reported. Cunningham is expected to decide about surgery in the next few days.

In 12 games this season, he is averaging 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

The Pistons have lost six games in a row to fall to an NBA-worst 3-14. They have four games left on a West Coast swing and will face the Kings in Sacramento on Sunday.

–Field Level Media