Harden’s 40 leads Rockets over Pelicans

injury on an awkward fall in the first quarter. Gafford had missed the previous nine games because of a dislocated right thumb.

Up by 10 points to begin the fourth, the Raptors extended their lead on 3-pointers by Davis and Patrick McCaw, leading to a Bulls timeout.

Rockets 117 Pelicans 109 In Houston, James Harden had 40 points and came an assist shy of a triple-double to lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans .

Rookie sensation Zion Williamson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.

Harden, who added 10 rebounds and nine assists, poured in 26 points in the first half and cooled down in the second half. But he still had his second straight game with 30 or more points after failing to score 30 in his previous four games as he worked through a shooting slump.

Jrue Holiday had three points before Josh Hart made one of two free throws to allow New Orleans to cut the lead to 110-107 with about two minutes to go.

Eric Gordon added a basket seconds after that and Danuel House hit a 3-pointer to make it 115-107 with less than a minute left to seal the victory.

Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans.

Houston went with its small lineup again as center Clint Capela missed his second straight game and the third in four games with a bruised right heel. Russell Westbrook added 22 points for the Rockets and Ben McLemore had 22 off the bench.

The Pelicans led by one to start the fourth and scored the first four points of the quarter to make it 97-92. But Harden made a 3-pointer before finding Westbrook for a layup to tie it up with about 10 minutes left.

The Pelicans were up by two points later in the fourth when House made a 3-pointer to put Houston up 102-101. Both teams missed numerous shots after that and Houston finally got back on the board with a layup by House with about seven minutes to go. Harden made a layup after that to push Houston’s lead to 106-101.

Hart made the first field goal for New Orleans in more four minutes after that to cut the lead to 106-103 midway through the fourth.

The teams combined to miss nine shots over the next 2 -½ minutes before Harden added two points on free throws that pushed Houston’s run to 9-2 and made it 108-103 with 3- ½ minutes to go.

This game was close throughout and Houston cut the lead to 93-92 entering the fourth quarter after McLemore made two of three free throws after he

Phoenix Suns’ Jevon Carter (left), reaches for the ball against Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton (center), during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Feb 2, in Milwaukee. (AP)

was fouled on a 3-pointer.

Bucks 129 Suns 108 In Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Bucks have lost 28 games since the start of last season. Only once did they follow one defeat with another.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 19 rebounds, and the Bucks rebounded yet again by beating the Phoenix Suns 129-108 – two days after a loss to Denver.

Antetokounmpo reached the 30-point mark for the 26th time, and fellow All-Star Khris Middleton had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Brook Lopez added 17 points, and the Bucks shot 49.5% and made 15 of 38 from 3-point range.

Devin Booker scored 32 points and spurred a third-quarter surge by Phoenix,

and the deficit dropped to nine when DeAndre Ayton dropped a hook shot with 3:51 left in the quarter. Milwaukee responded with three straight 3-pointers - including back-to-back from Dante DiVincenzo – to snuff out the rally.

Pistons 128 Nuggets 123 OT In Detroit, it took Detroit just over half a quarter to fall behind by 21. Then the Pistons rallied almost as quickly.

Bruce Brown had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and fellow reserve guard Reggie Jackson scored 20 points to lift the Pistons to a 128123 overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Andre Drummond added 21 points and 17 rebounds for Detroit, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

It was the 400th career double-double for the 26-year-old Drummond. Only Dwight Howard, who was 25, has reached that milestone at a younger age.

Nikola Jokic had 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Denver.

It was an impressive day for Detroit’s younger players. Brown, who is in his second NBA season, played the most of anyone on the Pistons. Rookie Sekou Doumbouya scored all 17 of his points in the first half to help Detroit dig out of its early hole.