Rockets win with late run
SAN ANTONIO — UNLV product Christian Wood had 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Houston Rockets rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-105 on Thursday in their first game since trading away franchise cornerstone James Harden.
Sterling Brown, who took Harden’s spot in the starting lineup, had 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
Keldon Johnson had a career-high 29 points and Lonnie Walker IV 16 points while tying a career-high with four 3-pointers for the Spurs.
Houston staged a 15-2 run to lead 105-101 with 1:46 left.
Brown had a wild, overhead shot land on the top of the backboard for an out-of-bounds call with 9.5 seconds to go. Spurs veteran Demar Derozan missed a 15-footer with
0.4 seconds left, and San Antonio fouled P.J. Tucker, who made two free throws to seal it.
■ Raptors 111, Hornets 108: At Tampa, Fla., Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto (3-8), which snapped a two-game skid. Findlay Prep product P.J. Washington had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte but missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
■ 76ers 125, Heat 108: At Philadelphia, Shake Milton had 31 points and Ben Simmons 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia, which swept a two-game home set from a Miami team depleted by COVID-19 issues.
■ Nuggets 114, Warriors 104: At Denver, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for Denver, which led 65-54 at halftime. Stephen Curry had 35 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State.
■ Pacers 111, Trail Blazers 87: At Portland, Ore., Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 15 rebounds for Indiana, which improved to 4-1 on the road and halted an 11-game skid at Portland.