ROCKETS LEAN ON HARDEN’S LATE SURGE
Harden scores Houston’s last 10 points, tallies 42nd triple-double
JAMES Harden had 50 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, scoring 10 straight Houston points down the stretch to help the Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 119108 on Saturday.
Harden had his 42nd career triple-double and third 50-point game in the last six. He made seven 3-pointers to become the ninth player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career 3s.
Clint Capela added 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 22 points. Houston has won four of five.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 24 points for the Kings. They have lost two straight and fell to 0-3 against Houston this season.
76ERS 118, TIMBERWOLVES 109
In Minneapolis, Tobias Harris scored 25 points for Philadelphia in Jimmy Butler’s jeer-filled return to Minnesota, helping the 76ers hang on and move one step closer toward solidifying the No. 3 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Ben Simmons pitched in 20 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Sixers (49-27), who stretched their lead over Boston and Indiana to 4½ games with eight games to go. They’re still four games behind second-place Toronto.
Rookie Jonah Bolden filled in for Joel Embiid and posted a career-best 19 points for the Sixers, who overcame the precautionary absence of their All-Star center and a quiet night by Butler (12 points on 4-for-17 shooting with 13 rebounds and five assists) to start a three-game road trip with a quality win.
NETS 110, CELTICS 96
In New York, D’Angelo Russell scored 20 of his 29 points in another blistering third quarter against Boston, leading Brooklyn over the short-handed Celtics.
Back from a seven-game trip that lasted more than two weeks, the Nets had a happy homecoming thanks largely to Russell, who added 10 assists and finished with 25 points after halftime.
Caris LeVert added 15 points for the Nets, who had dropped the final two games of the trip and still face a tough stretch now that they’re back home.