Rockets’ streak at 10
James Harden had 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Rockets fought off a late rally to get their 10th straight win, 100-91 over the Kings in Houston on Wednesday night.
The Rockets are 44-13 entering the All-Star break after winning 17 of their past 19 games.
Houston led by as many as 17, but the Kings got within striking distance several times in the fourth quarter. They were down six late before Houston used a 7-2 run, capped by a three-pointer from Harden, to make it 94-83 with just more than a minute left.
The Kings scored the next five points, with a three-pointer from Garrett Temple, to cut it to six again with 30 seconds left. Joe Johnson, in his Houston debut, added two free throws before Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a three to cut the lead to 96-91 with about 25 seconds left. The Rockets made four free throws after that to secure the win.
Jazz 107, Suns 97: Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points, Royce O’Neale had a career-high 19 for host Utah, which won its 11th straight game. Devin Booker returned from a hip injury to lead Phoenix with 28 points. Josh Jackson added 22 points for the Suns.
Clippers 129, Celtics 119: DeAndre Jordan had 30 points and 13 rebounds to help visiting Los Angeles to its fourth victory in five games. Tobias Harris added 21 points, Danilo Gallinari had 20 and Lou Williams 19 for the Clippers.
Pelicans 139, Lakers 117: Anthony Davis had 42 points and 15 rebounds for host New Orleans in its highestscoring
game of the season. Davis went 15-for-18 from the field with three assists, three steals and two blocks. Jrue Holiday had 24 points and 11 assists, and Darius Miller scored 19 points for the Pelicans.
Thunder 121, Grizzlies 114: Paul George scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 points in his 17th triple-double of the season, and visiting Oklahoma City survived a second-half Memphis rally. Westbrook finished with 15 assists and 13 rebounds.
Wizards 118, Knicks 113: Bradley Beal scored 36 points, and Washington overcame a 27-point deficit in New York. Otto Porter Jr. added 22 points and Ian Mahinmi had 17 for the Wizards, who trailed 68-41 late in the second quarter.
Raptors 122, Bulls 98: Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 10 assists, Serge Ibaka also scored 20 points and visiting Toronto cruised to its seventh straight victory. Lowry made four three-pointers, and he and Ibaka each grabbed seven rebounds. Bobby Portis scored 18 points for Chicago.
Pacers 108, Nets 103: Victor Oladipo scored 25 points, Corey Joseph added 15 points and 11 assists for Indiana. Myles Turner had 11 points and 14 boards, and former Net Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 14 points for the visiting Pacers.
76ers 104, Heat 102: Ben Simmons had a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, J.J. Redick hit a 19-foot, off-balance baseline jumper with 19.4 seconds left for host Philadelphia, which overcame a 24-point second-half deficit.
Hornets 104, Magic 102: Dwight Howard had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Charlotte stopped a four-game slide in Orlando. Kemba Walker had 20 points for Charlotte on 6-for-19 shooting, and Nicolas Batum added 14 points and seven assists.
Pistons 104, Hawks 98: Ish Smith had 22 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin narrowly missed a tripledouble and host Detroit ended a three-game losing streak. Griffin finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.