Spurs top Rockets — Houston scores season-low 83 points
LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 21 points as the Spurs held Houston to its lowest output of the season, beating the Rockets 100-83 in San Antonio on Sunday.
“They played much harder than us,” Houston guard James Harden said.
The Spurs remained fourth in the Western Conference after preventing a season sweep by the Rockets, having lost the previous three games by an average of 14 points. Houston owns the NBA’s best record.
The Rockets were without injured Chris Paul and the Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard.
Harden scored 25 points on 8-for-19 shooting.
Jazz 121, Timberwolves 97: Ricky Rubio scored 23 points, including a season-high 5-for-6 shooting on three-pointers, and Donovan Mitchell added 21 points in a road rout for Utah. Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points for Minnesota.
Trail Blazers 113, Grizzlies 98: Damian Lillard had 27 points and nine assists and host Portland held off a late Memphis run. The Blazers clinched a playoff spot earlier in the evening when Utah beat Minnesota.
Pacers 111, Clippers 104: Victor Oladipo scored 30 points as visiting Indiana rallied to beat Los Angeles for its fifth straight victory. The Pacers have won 12 of their past 16.
Thunder 109, Pelicans 104: Russell Westbrook had a triple-double to lead visiting Oklahoma City. Westbrook finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Nuggets Jokic Jamal had Murray 35 128, points scored Bucks and 18 125: of 13 rebounds, his Nikola 27 points after the third quarter and host Denver rallied from eight down in the final minute of regulation. The Nuggets moved a game back of New Orleans for the last playoff spot in the West. Jabari Parker scored 35 for Milwaukee.
Pistons 108, Nets 96: Reggie Jackson scored 29 points, Stanley Johnson had 17 and visiting Detroit preserved its slim playoff hopes. The Pistons are four games behind Miami for the last playoff spot in the East with five games remaining for each team.
76ers 119, Hornets 102: Ben Simmons had 20 points and 15 assists as visiting Philadelphia kept up its passing prowess to beat Charlotte. The Sixers set a team record with their ninth straight game of 30 or more assists — they had 36 on their 48 baskets.
Bulls 113, Wizards 94: Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and hit on 5 of 8 three-pointers to lead host Chicago. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg missed the game with a respiratory infection and was replaced by associate head coach Jim Boylen.
Cavaliers 98, Mavericks 87: LeBron James struggled before extending his record double-digit scoring streak to 868 games by scoring 16 and host Cleveland had a rough time before putting away lottery-bound Dallas.
Hawks 94, Magic 88: Tyler Dorsey scored 19 points, including back-toback baskets after visiting Orlando trimmed Atlanta’s lead to five points late in the game, and the Hawks beat the Magic in a matchup of teams with the Eastern Conference’s worst records.
Kings 84, Lakers 83: Buddy Hield scored 19 points off the bench to lead visiting Sacramento over Los Angeles, which was playing without injured Brandon Ingram (concussion) and Lonzo Ball (knee).