Rockets blast Hawks
Harden’s 30-point streak ends with win over Atlanta
NEW YORK: James Harden had his streak of consecutive 30-point games end at 32, but he and Chris Paul helped hosts Houston Rockets withstand a career night from Atlanta Hawks rookie guard Trae Young en route to a 119-111 win.
Harden posted 28 points despite finishing 0-for-10 from three-point range.
He had an opportunity to pursue an extension of the streak, the second longest in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 65-game run in 1961-1962, but he dribbled out the clock with the victory secure.
Harden had sat out the Rockets’ previous game, a Saturday road win over Golden State Warriors, due to a neck injury.
Paul added 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Young paired 36 points on 8-of-12 shooting from three-point range with eight assists.
John Collins chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Tobias Harris scored 29 points while All-Star centre Joel Embiid sat out his third consecutive game with a sore left knee as visiting Philadelphia held on to defeat New Orleans.
After Julius Randle scored on a dunk to pull New Orleans within one point with 10.9 seconds left, Philadelphia’s Jonathon Simmons missed two free throws with 9.7 seconds to go, giving the Pelicans a chance to win.
However, Jimmy Butler tipped E’Twaun Moore’s three-point attempt, forcing a miss just before the buzzer.
JJ Redick added 16 points for the 76ers.
Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 22 points, and Randle had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Anthony Davis, who returned to the line-up after sitting out to rest on Saturday night, had 18 points.
Klay Thompson scored 26 points, and DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 11 rebounds as visiting Golden State beat Charlotte.
The Warriors have now won 16 of their past 18 road games.
Cousins might have had his best game since returning from an Achilles injury 14 games ago. He was 9-of-15 from the field and was on the court for most of the Warriors’ runs.
Cody Zeller scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Hornets, hitting 13-of-14 from the field. The Hornets also got 23 points from Kemba Walker. — Reuters