Rockets gun down red-hot Blazers
LOS ANGELES: The league-leading Houston Rockets ended the Trail Blazers’ 13-game NBA winning streak on Tuesday with a hardfought 115-111 victory in Portland.
In a game featuring the NBA’s two hottest teams, Houston’s Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden scored 42 points to help the Rockets notch their 13th victory in 14 games since the AllStar break.
Neither team led by more than 10 points in a see-saw battle that saw 17 lead changes and 10 ties.
Harden’s step-back threepointer put the Rockets up 113104 with 1:55 to play.
The Trail Blazers narrowed the gap to two points in the final minute, but would get no closer.
“They’ve been playing well, we all know that,” Harden said. “Nothing changes for us, no matter who we play. We go out there and just do our thing on both ends of the floor. Tonight was no different.
“Fourth quarter, we stepped up and made big shots. Defensively we got stops when we needed to.”
The Celtics dealt the Thunder a damaging 100-99 loss in Boston, where Marcus Morris drained a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to lift hosts.
With Celtics star Kyrie Irving still sidelined by a sore left knee, Jayson Tatum led Boston with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Morris contributed 21 as the Celtics snapped Oklahoma City’s six-game winning streak.
It was a morale boosting victory for a Celtics team also missing Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis, although it did little to alter the playoff-bound Celtics’ hold on second place in the Eastern Conference.
“They came in here with their full squad and they thought it was going to be a cakewalk,” Morris said.
The Eastern Conference leading Toronto Raptors erased an eightpoint fourth-quarter deficit to down the Magic in Orlando 93-86.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, eighth in the West, bolstered their playoff bid with a 123-109 victory over the fading Los Angeles Clippers.
In New Orleans, Anthony Davis scored 37 points to lead the Pelicans to a 115-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
In Salt Lake City, Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 41 points to lead the Hawks to a 99-94 victory over the Jazz.