Harden scores 56 as Rockets overwhelm Jazz
Celtics earn 8th straight victory
HOUSTON — James Harden scored a careerhigh 56 points and added 13 assists in just 35 minutes to lead the Houston Rockets to a 137-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Harden finished 19 of 25 from the field after missing his last three attempts. The MVP runner-up was 7 for 7 from beyond the arc until he missed a step-back 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter as the shot clock was about to expire.
Even when the Jazz could deny Harden his shot, he passed it off for someone else to score. Eric Gordon scored 20 points, Trevor Ariza had 14 and Nene scored 13 off the bench. HAWKS 117, CAVALIERS 115: In Cleveland, Dennis Schroeder scored 28 points and injury-riddled Atlanta ended its eight-game losing streak. The Hawks were missing five players, but still posted their first victory since topping Dallas in the season opener. CELTICS 104, MAGIC 88: In Orlando, Fla., Jaylen Brown scored 18 points and Al Horford added 14 points and 10 rebounds to spark Boston.
The Eastern Conferenceleading Celtics (8-2) have won eight straight after beginning the season with back-to-back losses. HEAT 104, CLIPPERS 101: In Los Angeles, James
Johnson made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left and Miami recovered after blowing a 25-point lead. WIZARDS 107, RAPTORS
96: In Toronto, Bradley Beal scored 38 points, Otto Porter Jr. had 19 and Washington overcame the absence of All-Star point guard John Wall (sprained shoulder) to beat Toronto for the second time in 11 meetings with the Raptors. KNICKS 108, PACERS 101: In New York, Kristaps Porzingis scored a careerhigh 40 points, carrying
the Knicks back from a 19-point deficit. Porzingis added eight rebounds and six blocked shots. TIMBERWOLVES 112, HORNETS 94: In Minneapolis, Jeff Teague had 18 points and 12 assists, and Minnesota earned its fifth straight victory.
SPURS 112, SUNS 95: In San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and San Antonio rolled past Phoenix. The Suns were held to 13 points in the third quarter. TRAIL BLAZERS 103,
THUNDER 99: In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard had 36 points and 13 assists, Jusuf Nurkic added 25 points and the Trail Blazers beat Oklahoma City.
Paul George topped the Thunder with 27 points. Russell Westbrook had 25 points and nine assists. LAKERS 107, GRIZZLIES 102: In Los Angeles, Brook Lopez scored 21 points and had five assists while Brandon Ingram had 20 points and seven rebounds as the Lakers held off Memphis.