Team wins hours after NBA star cops 25-game suspension

Embiid scored 40 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the 76ers defeated New Orleans 124-114 at home on Saturday just hours after the NBA banned George for violating its anti-drug policy.

The NBA did not disclose the nature of the violation or the substance involved, and George released a statement to ESPN saying he "made the mistake of taking an improper medication" in the course of seeking treatment for a mental health issue.

He apologised to the team and their fans, saying he took "full responsibility for my actions."

The no-pay suspension will cost George roughly $US11.7 million ($A16.8 million) of his $51.7 million ($A74.3 million) salary, or about $469,690 ($A674,759) for each of the 25 games missed.

Without nine-time All-Star George, the 76ers couldn't shake the 13-win Pelicans until the final minutes but still improved to 27-21 as they sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.

In Miami, the Chicago Bulls pulled off an upset 125-118 win over the Heat despite playing without a clutch of leading scorers including Australian star Josh Giddey.

It was the second game of a triple-header between the teams in four days and Giddey (hamstring tightness) sat out along with Coby White (calf), Nikola Vucevic (rest), Jalen Smith (calf) and Zac Collins (toe).

Giddey had also missed Thursday's three-point home loss to the Heat, two days after returning to the starting line-up for the first time since injuring his hamstring a month ago.

In his absence, Ayo Dosunmu scored a season-high 29 points and added nine assists and eight rebounds on Saturday while Matas Buzelis scored 21 points and Isaac Okoro added 20 for the Bulls, who hit 20 three-pointers.

Pelle Larsson scored 22 and Bam Adebayo had 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter for Miami, who tied the game four times in the final 3:37 but couldn't reclaim the lead.

Australian guard Dyson Daniels' Atlanta Hawks suffered a second-straight loss, falling 129-124 to the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Jalen Johnson had his eighth triple-double of the season for the Hawks, with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, but his points tally came off wasteful 12 of 29 shooting.

Nickeil Alexander added 21 points and CJ McCollum had 18 while starter Daniels backed his eight points with seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals while their team dropped to a 24-27 record.

Andrew Nembhard scored 26 points and Pascal Siakam added 25 to lead the improving Pacers (13-36) to victory with young Aussie Johnny Furphy playing 13 minutes and grabbing two rebounds.

In Memphis, Australian centre Jock Landale was held to seven points along with eight rebounds in his 26 minutes as a starter as his Grizzlies (18-29) were thumped 131-114 by Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves (31-19) to a fourth-straight win with 33 points as Julius Randle added 27 points and seven assists.

Australian Josh Green's Charlotte notched a sixth straight win as they beat San Antonio 111-106. Green played 11 minutes off the bench without scoring as Brandon Miller led with 26 points and LaMelo Ball had 16.

with The AP and Reuters

Australian Associated Press