NBA Roundup: Warren drops 53; Heat wave; Thunder, Jazz take knee; not Smart enough

Warren drops 53 points for Pacers

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons combined for 60 points but were no match for Indiana's T.J. Warren who dropped 53 points, highlighted by 9-of-12 shooting from the arc, in a 127-121 victory over  the Philadelphia 76ers at the NBA bubble Saturday in Orlando.

Warren hit 20-of-29 shots from the floor and made all four attempts from the free throw line.

Embiid scored 41 points and grabbed 21 boards; Tobias Harris added 30, and Ben Simmons had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Victor Oladipo and Aaron Holiday each added 15 points for Indiana.

Butler, Adebayo lead Heat past Nuggets

The Miami Heat relied on Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in a 125-105 rout of the Denver Nuggets.

Butler and Adebayo scored 22 points each while Kylly Olynyk added 20 off the bench.

The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic and reserve Jerami Grant with 19 points each.

6 Thunder players post double figures

The Utah Jazz never recovered from a 24-point halftime deficit to lose to the  Oklahoma City Thunder 110-94.

Six Thunder players scored in double-figures – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 19; Chris Paul, 18; and Steven Adams, 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell topscored for Utah with  13 points.

Thunder, Jazz players take a knee

The Oklahoma City pushed through with kneeling for social justice in their game against the Utah Jazz Saturday.

This move has got to earn the ire of Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy).

He had earlier threatened to pull tax breaks for the team if its players kneel during the national anthem.

Aside from the Thunder, Jazz players also knelt.

Heat's Leonard stands

Meyers Leonard of the Heat stood up for the US national anthem while his teammates knelt before tipoff against the Nuggets.

Leonard was wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt and stood for the anthem with his hand over his heart.

He fist bumped with his teammates who appeared to support his decision after the anthem was over.

Celtics' Smart fined $15K for criticizing refs

Slamming referees is always a bad idea financially.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was fined $15,000 for criticizing referees in a loss to Milwaukee last Saturday.

It was the first fine the NBA issued at the NBA season restart.

Smart got mad at a charging call against Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks with 88 seconds left in the game that was overturned and made into a blocking foul against him. (Compiled by Tristan Lozano)