DeRozan’s high score falls short
Harden drops triple double in leading Houston to 8th straight win
TORONTO—James Harden had 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 10th tripledouble of the season to help the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 129-122 on Sunday night for their eighth straight NBA victory.
Montrezl Harrell added 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes, and fellow reserve Eric Gordon had 19 points to help Houston win consecutive road games over the Raptors for the first time.
DeMar DeRozan had 36 points for the Raptors, setting a career high with his 18th 30-plus-point game of the season. DeMarre Carroll tied a career high with 26 points and set a career high with six 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
Down 99-95 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead. DeRozan’s run of 12 consecutive points for the Raptors cut into that advantage, but Toronto could get no closer than five points.
Cavaliers 120, Suns 116
In Phoenix, LeBron James scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as Cleveland fought off Phoenix down the stretch.
Kyrie Irving added 27 points and Kevin Love 25 for the Cavaliers. They led by as many as 22 in the first half and 20 early in the third quarter. The Suns tied it late in the third and got within one in the fourth but never took the lead.
Eric Bledsoe scored 31 points and Devin Booker had 28 for the Suns.
James sank consecutive 3-pointers, his only 3s of the game, to give Cleveland a 115-109 lead with 2:46 to play and scored on a driving layup with 44 seconds left to make it 120-114.
Pistons 125, Trail Blazers 124, 2OT
In Portland, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds left as Detroit outlasted Portland in a game postponed a day because of a winter storm.
Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 31 points, Andre Drummond had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Caldwell-Pope finished with 26. The Pistons have won two straight for the first time since Dec. 2.
CJ McCollum had 35 points for Portland in the game with 14 lead changes and 11 ties. He has scored 20 points or more in seven straight games and is averaging 33.8 points in the last five.
Warriors 117, Kings 106
In Sacramento, Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers and scored 30 points as Golden State took its first lead midway through the third quarter on the way to the victory over Sacramento.
Kevin Durant had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Klay Thompson added 18 points. With their 17th straight victory after a loss, the Warriors reached 124 straight regular-season games without suffering back-to-back defeats.
Lakers 111, Magic 95
In Los Angeles, Julius Randle scored 19 points and rookie Brandon Ingram matched his career high with 17 in Los Angeles’ victory over Orland.
It was the first time in their last 30 games the Lakers put together consecutive victories. (AP)