Sweet 16 for Rockets
Houston tighten grip on top spot
Chris Paul scored 25 points as the Houston Rockets overpowered Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder 122-112 to tighten their grip on the Western Conference with a 16th straight victory on Tuesday.
Paul produced a scintillating display of shooting which included five threepointers to help the Rockets bring up their 50th win of the season.
Houston now lead the West at 50-13, one game ahead of the Golden State Warriors who defeated the Brooklyn Nets 114101 on Tuesday.
The Thunder, meanwhile, remain firmly in the battle for one of the lower-seeded playoff spots, lying seventh at 3729.
Against the Rockets, the talismanic figure of Westbrook once again led the way for the Thunder with 32 points while Carmelo Anthony finished with 23.
Paul George had 17 points while New Zealand’s Steven Adams chipped in with 16.
Houston’s greater depth in offense, however, was to prove decisive, with seven players cracking double digits.
MVP hopeful James Harden was happy to take a backseat to Paul, but still managed to come up with 23 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.
In Oakland, Stephen Curry scored 34 points as Golden State eased past Brooklyn at the Oracle Arena.
Kevin Durant had 19 points with Klay Thompson 18 and Draymond Green 16 to maintain the reigning NBA champions’ pursuit of Houston.
In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis exploded for 41 points as New Orleans edged the Clippers 126-121 to claim a ninth straight win. The Pelicans improved to 37-26 with the result.
In the Eastern Conference, DeMar DeRozan led the scoring as the Toronto Raptors notched a fifth consecutive victory to remain firmly on top of the standings with a 106-90 romp against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Raptors improved to 46-17 with the win, helped by Jonas Valanciunas contributing 15 points and CJ Miles 14 off the bench. Serge Ibaka and Delon Wright also made double figures with 10 points apiece.
In Charlotte, Robert Covington led an all-round scoring display from the Philadelphia 76ers in a 128-114 defeat of the Hornets.
Covington scored 22 points for the Sixers, one of seven players to finish in double figures for the visitors, who improved to 35-28 and remain sixth in the standings.