Harden, Paul help Rockets top Mavericks
James Harden is an All-Star for the sixth straight season. Chris Paul will miss the February party for the second year in a row following nine consecutive appearances for the Western Conference.
“He averages, what, 19 (points) and nine assists?” Harden asked after getting 25 points and 13 assists in a 104-97 win over the host Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. “What are we rewarding? We’re winning and he’s putting up the numbers, there’s no question.”
Paul scored 12 points with seven rebounds and four assists as the Rockets beat their Texas rivals for the sixth straight time starting with a four-game sweep last season. Houston won its fourth straight game.
Wesley Matthews had 29 points and seven three-pointers for the Mavericks, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games.
Trevor Ariza had 23 points and Eric Gordon hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points. Southwest Division-leading Houston was up and down from beyond the arc, going 10-for-14 in the first quarter and 2-for-15 in the second.
The Rockets finished two shy of their season high in threes, hitting 21 of 51 attempts. Harden shot 6-for-10 and Ariza was 5-for-14, missing his last four. Paul went 3-for-8.
Celtics 113, Clippers 102: Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Jayson Tatum had 18 and Boston defeated host Los Angeles to snap a season-high four-game losing streak. The Celtics connected on 14 of 40 three-point attempts and outrebounded the Clippers 47-40. Irving also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Blake Griffin scored 23 points and Lou Williams had 20 in Los Angeles’ third consecutive loss.
Trail Blazers 123, Timberwolves 114: Damian Lillard had 31 points a day after getting his third All-Star nod and host Portland beat Minnesota. CJ McCollum added 28 points in the Blazers’ seventh straight win at home. Lillard made six three-pointers and the Blazers had 17 threes, one shy of their season high. Andrew Wiggins had 24 points for the Timberwolves.
Spurs 108, Grizzlies 85: Pau Gasol finished an assist short of a triple-double, Patty Mills scored 15 points and visiting San Antonio beat Memphis. Gasol had 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Bryn Forbes and Danny Green also finished with 14 points each. Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 18 points and seven rebounds. Spurs leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge had the night off for rest.
76ers 115, Bulls 101: Ben Simmons had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season to lead host Philadelphia over Chicago. Dario Saric added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Embiid had 22 points for the 76ers, who have won seven of 10. Bobby Portis scored 22 points and Zach LaVine had 21 for the Bulls.
Pelicans 101, Hornets 96: Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis each scored 19 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 13 rebounds and visiting New Orleans defeated Charlotte. The Hornets’ Dwight Howard had 22 points and 16 rebounds in his 1,000th career game.
Pacers 116, Suns 101: Thaddeus Young scored 22 points, Victor Oladipo had 21 points and nine assists and host Indiana pulled away from Phoenix. Josh Jackson had 20 points, while Greg Monroe had 16 points and 17 rebounds to lead Phoenix. Devin Booker and Troy Daniels each scored 19 points for the Suns.
Jazz 98, Pistons 95: Joe Ingles made a tying layup in the final seconds of regulation, then added two three-pointers in overtime to lift visiting Utah over Detroit. The Pistons lost their sixth straight. Andre Drummond had 30 points and 24 rebounds for Detroit. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell each had 15 points for Utah.
Raptors 108, Hawks 93: Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and visiting Toronto used strong threepoint shooting to beat Atlanta. Toronto made 14 threes, including eight in the first half. Fred VanVleet added 19 points off the bench and All-Star starter DeMar DeRozan had 14. Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 20 points, and John Collins had 13 points and 16 rebounds.