The NBA docked the Philadelphia 76ers second-round draft picks in 2023 and 2024 for tampering violations, the league announced Monday.

Per the league, the 76ers violated league rules by having discussions with Danuel House Jr. and P.J. Tucker prior to the open of free agency last offseason. Tucker and House signed with the 76ers as free agents. They both played with 76ers guard James Harden when he was a league MVP with the Houston Rockets. They also had established relationships with 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey from his time as Houston’s general manager.

This is not Morey’s first foray into tampering penalties. The NBA fined Morey and the 76ers $75,000 each in 2021 after Morey tweeted about Stephen Curry before the Warriors star signed a $215 million extension to remain in Golden State. In 2020, the NBA fined Morey $50,000 for a tweet about Harden when he was still a member of the Rockets. The Rockets traded Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in 2021. He joined the 76ers via trade from Brooklyn last season.

In games Monday ...

76ers 118, Wizards 111 >> Harden scored 23 points and had 17 assists as Philadelphia clawed back to .500 with a victory in Washington despite missing Joel Embiid. Embiid, the back-to-back NBA MVP finalist, missed out due to non-COVID-19 related illness.

BUcks 119, Pistons 108 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points, Jrue Holiday had 25 and Brook Lopez 24 as host Milwaukee extended its NBA-leading record to 6-0. Holiday sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 45.3 seconds left.

Nets 116, Pacers 109 >> Kevin Durant scored 34 points to lift host Brooklyn. With two first quarter free throws, Durant passed Vince Carter for 19th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He now has 25,752. And he has scored at least 25 points in each of the first seven games of the season, the most in franchise history.

Raptors 139, Hawks 109 >> Pascal Siakam had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Scottie Barnes scored a season-high 21 points for host Toronto.

Kings 115, Hornets 108 >> Kevin Huerter scored 26 points, Davion Mitchell added 23 points including two clutch jumpers late in the game as visiting Sacramento rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit.

Jazz 121, Grizzlies 105>> Lauri Markkanen had 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah in Salt Lake City. Malik Beasley scored a season-high 18 points off the bench for the Jazz.