HARDEN OUTDUELS JAMES AS ROCKETS HAND CAVS THEIR FOURTH LOSS IN FIVE GAMES

James Harden had a triple-double with 38 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to out-duel LeBron James and lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The Rockets were up by six when Nene made a layup before intercepting a bad pass by James. Patrick Beverley made a three-pointer on the other end to push the lead to 116-107 with less than two minutes left. Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go and added two free throws after that to get the Cavaliers within four. Harden added a free throw to end Cleveland’s run and secure the victory. It was the 16th triple-double this season for Harden and his 31st game with at least 30 points.

James Harden tallies 6th triple double of the year in win vs Cleveland

James Harden had a triple-double with 38 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to out-duel LeBron James and lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-112 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.

The Rockets were up by six when Nene made a layup before intercepting a bad pass by James. Patrick Beverley made a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead to 116-107 with less than two minutes left.

Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go and added two free throws after that to get the Cavaliers within four. Harden added a free throw to end Cleveland’s run and secure

James scores 30 points in Cleveland’s fourth loss in five games

the victory.

It was the 16th triple-double this season for Harden and his 31st game with at least 30 points.

James had 30 points for the Cavaliers. They lost for the fourth time in five games.

In Boston, Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points and later joined fans doing the wave as it circled TD Garden, and Boston handed Chicago its fifth straight loss, 100-80.

The Celtics rushed to a 13-0 lead, shutting out Chicago until Dwyane Wade’s jumper nearly six minutes into the game.

Thomas, the team’s leading scorer at 29.2 points per game, played only 24 minutes and sat the entire final quarter. He had

Isaiah Thomas scores 22 points in leading Boston over Chicago Bulls

some fun with the fans in the closing minutes of the blowout, taking part with teammate Jae Crowder in the crowd’s cheer.

Avery Bradley had 17 points. Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine led the Bulls with 13 points apiece.

In New York, Jeremy Lin ended an 0-for-9 start with a 3-pointer that halted a Knicks comeback, and Brooklyn beat New York, 120-112, for its first home victory of 2017.

The Nets ended a 16-game losing streak at Barclays Center. They hadn’t won here since Dec. 26, when Lin strained his hamstring in a victory over Charlotte. /