Rockets topple Wolves, Cavs hold on to edge Magic

LOS ANGELES: Eric Gordon scored 30 points and James Harden added 10 in his return from injury as Houston Rockets defeated Minnesota Timberwolves 116-98.

Harden was back in the line-up after missing seven games with a left hamstring strain and finished with 10 points on three-of-15 shooting.

He played 26 minutes and also had seven assists, two steals and two blocks.

Chris Paul had 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Clint Capela added 20 points in the win.

Houston have won 15 of the past 17 meetings with Minnesota, including a 10-game winning streak at home.

Coming into the NBA contest, Harden was leading the league in scoring (32.3 points) and ranked third in assists (9.1).

He suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of a double-overtime victory over Los Angeles Lakers on Dec 31.

Harden also extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 227, the second-longest active streak behind Cleveland’s LeBron James (834).

Gordon’s three-pointer helped the Rockets finish the third quarter on a 16-4 run to take an 89-70 lead into the fourth with their largest advantage of the game.

With Rockets forward Trevor Ariza sitting out the first part of a two-game suspension for a postgame locker room incident on Monday in Los Angeles, Luc Mbah a Moute started in Ariza’s spot, scoring 14 points.

Along with Ariza, guard Gerald Green was also serving the first of a two-game suspension for the altercation with the Clippers. — AFP