German_Force » The big sporting event at his

Ben Simmons topped LeBron James in a triple-double battle to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their 13th straight win in their biggest game in six years Youth Mike Remmers Jersey , 132-130 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

With a buzz in the city over the Sixers that hasn’t been felt since the pre-Process days, they romped toward a 30-point lead over the Cavs in the first half and scored 78 points at the break.

Simmons had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. James had 44 points (17-of-29 shooting), 11 assists and 11 rebounds, bringing the Cavaliers to the brink of an epic comeback.

The Sixers (49-30) moved into third place in the Eastern Conference over the Cavaliers (49-31).

RAPTORS 92, PACERS 73

TORONTO (AP) – Serge Ibaka scored a season-high 25 points, DeMar DeRozan had 12 and Toronto beat Indiana, clinching first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history.

Jakbo Poeltl scored 10 points as the Raptors set franchise records for wins in a season (57) and home wins (33).

Kyle Lowry had nine points and nine assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 rebounds for Toronto, which never trailed in its ninth consecutive home victory over the Pacers. Indiana last won north of the border on March 1, 2013.

Glenn Robinson III scored 12 points and Trevor Booker had 11 for the Pacers. Indiana shot 26 for 87 (29.9 percent) and set season-lows in points, made field goals, and field goal percentage.

CELTICS 111, BULLS 104

BOSTON (AP) – Greg Monroe came off the bench and had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Boston defeated Chicago.

It is Monroe’s second career triple-double. Jaylen Brown finished with a career-high 32 points and four rebounds.

With Al Horford and Jayson Tatum given the night off to rest, Boston went deep into its bench against a Chicago team that’s one of the worst in the NBA.

Chicago led by as many as 11 in the first half before Boston trimmed it to 58-55 at the half. But the Celtics outscored the Bulls 56-46 over the final two quarters.

Sean Kilpatrick led the Bulls with 24 points. Lauri Markkanen added 20 points and five rebounds.

TIMBERWOLVES 113, LAKERS 96

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Jimmy Butler scored 18 points in his return from right knee surgery, Jeff Teague had 25 points and eight assists, and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.

Butler played 22 minutes and was 7 for 10 from the field in his first game since getting hurt against Houston on Feb. 23. He had surgery two days later for a cartilage injury and missed 17 games.

Minnesota moved into sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference.

Taj Gibson also scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Youth Detroit Lions Jerseys , while Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were on the second night of a back-to-back. They lost to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

Julius Randle scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost nine of their last 13. Brook Lopez had 18 points and six rebounds, while Josh Hart tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

HAWKS 103 WIZARDS 97

WASHINGTON (AP) – Taurean Prince scored 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and Atlanta beat Washington.

Washington dropped its fourth straight game and fell into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 32 points.

Wizards point guard John Wall sat out what was the second of back-to-back games for Washington, and forward Markieff Morris left with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter when he picked up two quick technical fouls.

Six Hawks scored in double figures. Reserve Tyler Dorsey had 22 points, including 13 in the second half for the Hawks, who had lost two straight.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 13 points for the Wizards and Otto Porter Jr. had 10.

PELICANS 122, SUNS 103

PHOENIX (AP) – Nikola Mirotic scored a season-high 31 points and tied a season best with 16 rebounds, Anthony Davis had 33 points and 11 boards, and New Orleans beat Phoenix.

Jrue Holiday added 22 points and 10 assists to help the Pelicans move into a tie for the Western Conference’s fifth seed with idle San Antonio and Oklahoma City. New Orleans (45-34) won its second straight after losing four in a row.

The Pelicans led by double digits throughout the entire fourth quarter.

Marquese Chriss led Phoenix with 23 points and Josh Jackson added 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Suns have lost 16 of 17 and are closer to clinching the NBA’s worst record.

PISTONS 113, MAVERICKS 106, OT

DETROIT (AP) – Reggie Jackson scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and Detroit beat Dallas.

Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, who had six scorers in double figures.

Johnathan Motley led the Mavericks with career highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Detroit led 101-98 with a minute left in regulation, but Dallas coach Rick Carlisle kept starters Harrison Barnes, Dwight Powell and Dennis Smith Jr. on the bench.

Luke Kennard missed a clinching 3-pointer, and after Dallas turned the ball over, Jackson missed a shot that would have made it a five-point game with 30 seconds left.

Motley tied the score with a 3 with 10.1 seconds left, and Jackson’s buzzer-beater bounced off the front rim.

Detroit moved ahead 110-105 with 1:29 in overtime Ryan Getzlaf Jersey , and after a Dallas offensive foul, Jackson’s floater sealed the victory.

KINGS 94, GRIZZLIES 93

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Bogdan Bogdanovic connected on a 16-footer with a second left to help Sacramento escape with a victory over Memphis.

Bogdanovic’s jumper capped a close game between two While customers are watching the Super Bowl at Boston’s Common Ground Bar and Grill, waiters and bartenders will pause to see key moments as well. General Manager Jeff John understands his staff wants to see if the New England Patriots can win their third NFL title in four years.

”Your first focus has to be the guest,” John says. ”But we all get caught in the moment from time to time.”

Big sporting events are often a workplace distraction. But many small business owners and managers are cutting staffers a little slack as football fans find it hard to resist chatting about Sunday’s game. The Winter Olympics, the NCAA basketball tournament and other big events are coming up, and staffers may want to tune in.

Some owners realize that trying to eliminate sports talk or forbidding staffers to watch games is demoralizing and also difficult to achieve. So as long as there isn’t too much Monday morning quarterbacking or time spent in front of the office TV, bosses will go easy on fans. Some companies are even more understanding; it’s OK there for staffers to watch games in break rooms, and some owners even run office pools without cash prizes.

John has noticed that when the games are most exciting, customers want to watch, not order. So if waiters want to pause and see the play, he doesn’t stop them. Besides, when a waiter high-fives a customer after great play, it increases the bond between Common Ground and its diners.

A flexible attitude is a good management practice for company owners, says Phillippe Weiss, an attorney with expertise in employment law at the firm Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.

”They’re not going to be able to stop people’s excitement,” Weiss says. ”Trying to do so in an unyielding or draconian way is going to backfire.”

If the boss sees productivity slowing, or employees not tending to work that needs to be done, Weiss suggests a firm but friendly approach. For example Authentic Leon Draisaitl Jersey , if there’s too much watching of NCAA games, tell staffers, ”It’s time to do a fast break back to work.”

David Niu doesn’t worry about productivity at TINYpulse, his company that makes software to measure worker satisfaction and morale at other businesses. There’s a TV that will show NCAA games in March and employees will be able to watch. But they’ll also be held accountable for getting their work done.

”Instead of fighting it, I’m going to treat you as an adult,” says Niu, whose Seattle-based company has 100 employees. He expects staffers to cluster in front of the TV during the last few minutes of some of the games – and he’ll be there with them.

Watching TV during at work was once verboten. But many employers have come to realize a more employee-friendly work atmosphere benefits everyone; when staffers feel relaxed and are allowed to share a little fun, they’re more productive and do better work.

Actualize Consulting used to have a policy about watching and discussing games that managing director Kerry Wekelo now calls rigid. The bosses would end conversations, and ”that would burst people’s bubbles when they were excited,” Wekelo says.

The financial consulting firm with offices in New York and Reston, Virginia, has since changed its policy. If employees want to take a couple of hours to watch a game, they can, as long as they make up the time. The bosses also run an NCAA pool in which the winnings can be used for wellness purchases like gym memberships or treadmills.

Owners shouldn’t run pools with pure cash prizes, which are illegal even though employees at many workplaces have them, Weiss says. If a boss runs a pool and staffers feel pressure to take part, it could be raised in a potential lawsuit against the company. Or workers who don’t want to take part may resent the boss.

It’s not so easy for people who work in a factory to watch games or spend time away from their work to chat. At Ratchet Straps USA, which makes straps to tie down items like tents or farm equipment, the headsets staffers use to communicate with one another in the warehouse have private channels, and owner Michael Russell is fine with them talking about the game or anything else while they work. He understands sports are important for many at his Belleville Avonte Maddox Color Rush Jersey , Ohio, company, and they’ll want to gather around the TV in the last 10 minutes of NCAA games.

”Watching the last couple of minutes is something that we definitely even encourage,” Russell says.

Richard Lee is really the only big fan at his Los Angeles law firm, and is likely to be alone watching NCAA games on the conference room TV. He still runs a cashless pool for staffers. After the tournament, there’s an awards luncheon and even non-participants are eligible for a last-place medal.

”This is a fun morale booster and break from what is often the dead-serious practice of law,” Lee says.

Since it’s pointless to try to ban sports fans from watching or talking, Ross Sapir, owner of Roadway Moving based in the New York City borough of the Bronx, doesn’t even try.

”They don’t have to do it on the sly, on their cellphones or watching it in the background of their computers,” says Sapir, whose moving business has 40 staffers in its office, including many who want to watch the games on company TVs.

The big sporting event at his company is the World Cup soccer tournament, which runs from mid-June to mid-July. The games will be in Russia and many will be broadcast during working hours.

”I actually almost give them complete freedom to watch,” Sapir says. ”It’s such a festive environmen Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys