• HARDEN LIFTS ROCKETS TO 6TH STRAIGHT WIN…
HOUSTON – James Harden scored 44 points and the Houston Rockets used a big fourth quarter run to beat the Indiana Pacers 111102 on Friday night.
Houston has won a seasonhigh six games in a row and Harden has scored 36 points or more in five straight games to carry the Rockets as they deal with injuries to Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and Danuel House.
Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, and Doug McDermott also scored 18 points. Indiana had won four in a row.
HORNETS 109, PISTONS 106
In Charlotte, Malik Monk hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Charlotte past Detroit.
After Detroit’s Derrick Rose drove the lane and awkwardly threw the ball away with a second left, Charlotte got it at midcourt. Following a timeout, the Hornets threw several screens, with Monk flying around one near the top of the key. He caught a pass from Cody Martin and launched the winner.
Monk finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting to help the Hornets snap a four-game losing streak. Terry Rozier added 19 points, and Devonte Graham had 18 points and 10 assists.
Langston Galloway had a career-high 32 points on seven 3-pointers for Detroit. Andre Drummond added 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Blake Griffin had 19 points after missing three games with left hamstring and posterior knee soreness.
The Pistons have lost four straight.
THUNDER 127, 76ERS 119, OT
In Oklahoma City, Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points to help Oklahoma City outlast Philadelphia in overtime.
Chris Paul had 27 points for the Thunder, who had dropped three of four. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, and Terrance Ferguson finished with 19.
It was the biggest win of the season for a Thunder franchise that lost All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George in offseason trades. The crowd roared in the fourth quarter and overtime and made it seem, for a night, like nothing had changed.
Joel Embiid had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Richardson added 28 points for the 76ers.
WIZARDS 137, TIMBERWOLVES 116
In Minneapolis, Bradley Beal scored 44 points for the second straight game and Washington snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory over shorthanded Minnesota.
Moritz Wagner came off the bench for Washington to add 30 points and 15 rebounds – both career highs. Wagner also drew three charges to help spark the Wizards’ defense in the first half.
Karl-Anthony Towns, celebrating his 24th birthday, led the Timberwolves with 36 points. Minnesota was without scoring leader Andrew Wiggins because of personal reasons. OTHER NBA RESULTS: GRIZZLIES 107, JAZZ 106; MAGIC 111, SPURS 109.