Harden scores 41, streaking Rockets beat Heat
MIAMI » James Harden scored 41 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Miami Heat 109-101 on Wednesday night for their sixth straight victory and 10th in 11 games.
Chris Paul added 24 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds for the Rockets.
Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson each had 30 points for Miami. The Heat have a five-game losing streak, their longest slide of the season.
Harden eclipsed the 40-point mark for the eighth time this season. He was 13 of 25 from the field, going 5 of 12 from 3-point, and hit 10 of 12 free frees. He also had six assists and rebounds. PISTONS 115, NETS 106 » Andre Drummond had 17 points and 27 rebounds, and Detroit beat Brooklyn for its fifth straight victory.
Blake Griffin scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who have not lost since acquiring him in a trade last week. Griffin will face his old team Friday night when the Los Angeles Clippers are in town.
Allen Crabbe had 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets. They have lost four in a row and eight of nine.
Knicks hopes on hold after Porzingis tears ACL
NEW YORK » Without Kristaps Porzingis, there’s no reason for the New York Knicks to be thinking about the postseason. It’s time to look to their future. That’s all that’s left after Porzingis was lost to a torn ACL, ending his All-Star season and probably any hopes the Knicks had of making the playoffs.
They say they’ll keep playing hard, but the first trade they made after Porzingis’ injury showed they aren’t loading up for a playoff push.
Porzingis had hoped they would fight all the way to the playoffs for the first time in his career. But those plans were derailed when Porzingis crashed to the court, punching the floor in pain after a dunk in the second quarter of a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
An MRI revealed a torn left ACL, an injury that will sideline Porzingis for the rest of this season and perhaps a good deal of the next.
“Obviously he was devastated that he has that injury and so are we,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “It’s a tough thing to have happened. He’s had such a great year and we’re trying to grow with him.”
Disappointment could be felt not only in New York but around the NBA. Porzingis is a popular player for his wide array of skills at 7-foot-3 that led Kevin Durant to nickname him a “unicorn,” but also for the personality he brought to New York when he arrived in 2015 as a teenager from Latvia.
“Was hoping for the best news when I saw the play after the game,” LeBron James wrote on Twitter . “Best wishes and have a speedy healthy recovery.” NEW YORK » The Knicks traded Willy Hernangomez to the Hornets on Wednesday in a deal that brings back second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts, plus forward Johnny O’Bryant.
Hernangomez was an all-rookie selection last season and had been identified by team management during the summer as a one of the young players to build around. But the Knicks then acquired Enes Kanter from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade and Hernangomez fell to third in the center rotation behind Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn.