PHILADELPHIA, Jan 7 — Josh Richardson scored 23 points and Ben Simmons added 17 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists as the host Philadelphia 76ers held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-113 yesterday.

Tobias Harris scored 18 points and Joel Embiid had 18 points, nine rebounds and a season-high eight assists for the Sixers, who improved to 17-2 at home and also snapped a four-game losing streak.

Al Horford scored 13 points.

Steven Adams led the Thunder with a season-best 24 points to go along with 15 rebounds while Dennis Schroeder added 21 points.

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Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari had 18 points each for the Thunder, who had their five-game winning streak broken.

The Sixers took advantage of a late 13-2 run to go ahead 62-52 at halftime. Oklahoma City led for a good portion of the half before suffering through a scoreless drought of more than three-and-a-half minutes.

There were some anxious moments for the Sixers as Embiid went to the locker room twice in the first quarter. The result was a dislocated finger on his left hand, which was taped by athletic trainer Kevin Johnson. Embiid was able to return to the game.

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Schroeder paced the Thunder with 11 points while Adams was effective with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Harris led the Sixers with 13 points but was stuck on the bench at the end with three fouls.

Oklahoma City hung around and trailed 77-73 after Gallinari hit a pair of free throws with 4:54 remaining in the third to cap a 16-6 spurt.

Backup point guard Trey Burke knocked down a late 3-pointer and a jumper as the Sixers took a 90-86 advantage after the third.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the basket and closed the Thunder within 101-99 with 6:18 left in the fourth.

Mike Scott responded with a 3-pointer on the next Philadelphia possession to expand the lead back to five.

After Embiid made a jumper, Gallinari came back with a trey to cut the Sixers’ lead to 106-104 with 3:58 remaining.

Harris later threw down a dunk for a 110-106 lead with 2:06 left. The Sixers then scored the next five points to seal the win. — Reuters