Such was the dominance of the Eastern Conference leaders they could afford to manage the game time of stars Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.

In the west, Joe Ingles' Utah Jazz reclaimed the No.1 spot in the NBA and Western Conference playoff race after a 126-94 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 24 while Ingles' contribution comprised 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Bogdanovic, who missed the playoffs last season after undergoing wrist surgery, went 10 for 13 from the field - three for four on 3-pointers - and has averaged 25.8 points over his last five games.

Utah's win was helped by Atlanta's 135-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns, where Clint Capela scored 18 points to lead seven scorers in double figures as the Hawks pulled away late to overcome Devin Booker's 30 points.

The Suns began the night even with the Jazz in the race for the NBA's best record, thanks to a five-game winning streak.

But Phoenix faded badly in the fourth quarter of the back-to-back clash following Tuesday's 134-118 overtime win at Cleveland.

But there's no stopping the Sixers.

Embiid posted 34 points in just 25 minutes as Doc Rivers' team extended their winning streak to six games.

Point guard Simmons played 24 minutes for 10 points, three rebounds and three assists while Harris added 15 points together with Shake Milton's 19-point tally to boost the Sixers.

Houston, who have the NBA's worst record at 16-50, lost their third straight and eighth in nine games. They never looked comfortable as the visitors were up by double figures for most of the night.

Embiid also had 12 rebounds and made 14 of 16 free throws.

Ja Morant had 37 points and 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies held on for a 139-135 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Portland Trail Blazers posted their highest point total of the season in a 141-105 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In Milwaukee, Jrue Holiday scored 29 points as the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a triple-double from Russell Westbrook to beat the Washington Wizards 135-134.

Westbrook had 29 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds for his 179th career triple-double, leaving him just two shy of Oscar Robertson's NBA record of 181 career triple-doubles.

Nikola Jokic scored 24 of his 32 points in a dominant first quarter in Denver's victory over New York.

Jokic finished with 12 rebounds to help the Nuggets move back into a tie with the Los Angeles Clippers for third place in the Western Conference.

Marvin Bagley III kept Sacramento's slim playoff hopes alive, scoring a season-high 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Kings to a 104-93 win over Indiana.

Australian Associated Press