James Harden boosts Rockets’ win in return PACERS 102, CELTICS 101
LOS ANGELES — James Harden scored 25 points, dished seven assists and added four steals as the visiting Houston Rockets pulled away for a 96-88 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Carmelo Anthony (17 points) and James Ennis III (15 points) were among three other Rockets to finish in double figures. Houston earned its second win in a row after losing the previous four.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 21 points during an unusual night in which he shot four of 16 from the field and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line. Jabari Parker added 15 points on six-for-12 shooting for the Bulls, who have dropped four in a row.
Harden, playing in his first game after missing three straight because of a strained left hamstring, scored 11 points unanswered during the third quarter. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers, sank a pair of free throws and made another 3-pointer to increase Houston’s lead from 6059 to 71-59.
LAKERS HOLD OFF BLAZERS’ RALLY LeBron James scored 28 points, and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers withstood a furious rally by the Portland Trail Blazers to win 114-110 Saturday night.
James passed out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds for the Lakers, who ended a 16-game losing streak against Portland, beating the Blazers for the first time since 2014. Rajon Rondo came off the bench to contribute 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 30 points for the Blazers, who nearly came back from a 20-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
McCollum and Lillard combined for 23 points to give Portland a 57-56 lead at the half, despite the Blazers making only 5 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc. James had 13 points for the Lakers.
The Lakers outscored Portland 32-16 in the third quarter to take an 88-73 advantage into the final period. Through three quarters, the Blazers were 6 for 28 on 3-point attempts.
L.A. increased its lead to 95-75 early in the fourth quarter, but Portland closed the gap to 99-85 with 6:51 left. Jusuf Nurkic made a free throw to get the Blazers to within 101-90 with 4:53 remaining. After James hit a pair of free throws, Lillard converted consecutive layups and a free throw to draw Portland within 103-95 with 4:01 to play.
Nurkic scored on a layup to cut the Lakers’ edge to 103-97 with 3:35 to go. The Lakers’ Josh Hart and McCollum traded driving layups, and L.A. was ahead 105-99 with 2:36 remaining. James then dunked to up the Lakers’ advantage to 107-99 with 2:18 to play.
McCollum’s layup got Portland to within 107-101 with two minutes to go. James and McCollum traded baskets, and the Lakers led 109-103 with 1:30 left.
Nurkic made 1 of 2 free throws, but the Lakers’ JaVale McGee scored on a layup to make it 111104 with 28 seconds left. McCollum converted a layup to slice the difference to 111-106 with 25.4 seconds to go. Hart split a pair of foul shots, but Meyers Leonard scored on a dunk to get the Blazers to within 112-108 with 10.6 seconds on the clock.
Victor Oladipo capped a wild finish with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining, delivering host Indiana a tight victory over Boston.
After sweeping two games at Indiana last season, the Celtics appeared headed for another road success when Kyrie Irving hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final 1:08, the second putting Boston up 101-97 with just 38.1 seconds remaining.
But after Oladipo (24 points, 12 rebounds) cut the deficit in half with two free throws with 29.2 seconds left, the Pacers got a shot at the win after Irving couldn’t complete a drive with 11.7 seconds to go. Oladipo got the defensive rebound and, a few seconds later, connected from 27 feet for the game-winner. —