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Houston faces Philadelphia, aims for 6th straight home win

Philadelphia 76ers (43-36, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (50-29, fifth in the Western Conference)

Houston; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Houston hosts Philadelphia looking to prolong its five-game home winning streak.

The Rockets have gone 28-10 in home games. Houston is 22-16 against opponents with a winning record.

The 76ers have gone 21-18 away from home. Philadelphia has a 6-8 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Rockets score 114.8 points per game, 1.7 fewer points than the 116.5 the 76ers give up. The 76ers average 12.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.1 more makes per game than the Rockets allow.

The teams meet for the second time this season. The 76ers won 128-122 in overtime in the last matchup on Jan. 23.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Durant is averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Rockets. Alperen Sengun is averaging 21.3 points over the last 10 games.

Tyrese Maxey is scoring 28.4 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists for the 76ers. VJ Edgecombe is averaging 20.7 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 51.9% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rockets: 8-2, averaging 121.4 points, 47.4 rebounds, 30.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.9 points per game.

76ers: 6-4, averaging 121.5 points, 45.2 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.2 points.

INJURIES: Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Steven Adams: out for season (ankle).

76ers: Johni Broome: out (knee), Cameron Payne: out (hamstring).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Mali shocks Spain in a Women’s Basketball World Cup stunner

BERLIN (AP) — Mali pulled off the first stunner of the Women's Basketball World Cup by shocking Spain 82-73 on Saturday. It was only the second win ever in tournament history for the African country, which previously beat Senegal in overtime in the 2010 edition. Mali was down two at the half, but outscored Spain 31-19 in the third quarter to take the lead. Mali went on a 16-4 run in that period after it was down 45-44 to take command for good. Sika Kone, who finished with 19 points, had two 3-pointers during that game-changing burst. Kone, who plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA, also had 10 rebounds. Mali (1-1) scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, including another 3-pointer by Kone, to put the game away as Spain could get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
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