NBA PLAYOFFS
BUCKS LEAD 3-1; ROCKETS LEVEL AT 2-2
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – James Harden scored 38 points and the Houston Rockets held off the Golden State Warriors 112-108 Monday to knot their NBA playoff series at two games apiece.
The reigning champion Warriors head home for game five of the bestof-seven Western Conference clash on Wednesday with a lot of work to do in a series in which each game has been decided by six or fewer points.
It was a different story on Monday in the East, as Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Bucks to a 113-101 victory over the Celtics in Boston and a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Milwaukee will try to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference finals when they host game five on Wednesday.
In Houston, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Harden made sure the Rockets didn’t fall into a similar hole.
Harden scored 13 of his 18 first-half points in the second quarter and added another 13 in the third, when the Rockets stretched their lead to as many as 17.
The Warriors responded with an 11-0 scoring run in the third period, and put together a 7-0 run late in the fourth, when they pulled within 108-110 on a Stephen Curry three-pointer with 19.3 seconds left.
Down 111-108 with 11.5 seconds remaining, Golden State saw Kevin Durant and Curry miss three-point attempts.
‘‘Our motto was keep fighting,’’ said Harden, who also pulled down 10 rebounds. ‘‘We know how tough they are. We’ve got to keep fighting on both ends of the floor, stay in attack mode, be aggressive.’’