Harden’s tripledouble marks Houston return
The No. 13 on his jersey, James Harden won so many games for the Houston Rockets.
On Wednesday night in the first meeting with his former team, No. 13 had a tripledouble for the Brooklyn Nets to send the host Rockets to their 13th straight loss.
“A lot of mixed emotions from the fans but I knew that was going to happen,” Harden said. “I just wanted to come out here and give them a show.”
He did that with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the 132114 win. The Nets set a franchise record with their seventh straight road victory. They’ve won 10 of their past 11 overall and are 177 since the Harden trade.
“So far, so good,“he said. “It’s everything that I signed up for. Top to bottom it’s been great.“
It’s the longest skid for the Rockets, who had just eight players available because of injuries, since they dropped 15 in a row in 2001. They’ve had a tough time since Harden was traded Jan. 14, and haven’t won since Feb. 4.
The Rockets used a 100 run, with five points from John Wall, to cut the lead to eight with about eight minutes left in the fourth. But the Nets scored the next eight points, with two 3s from Harden, to extend their lead to 11397.
Kings 123, Lakers 120: Buddy Hield shook off a sore ankle to score 29 points and host Sacramento beat shorthanded Los Angeles. The Kings took advantage of a banged-up Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis to bounce back from Sunday’s late-game collapse against Charlotte when they missed five foul shots in the final 69 seconds to blow an eight-point lead.
76ers 131, Utah 123: Joel Embiid had 40 points and 19 rebounds and hit a tying 3-pointer late in regulation, and Tobias Harris scored 11 of his 22 points in overtime to lead host Philadelphia past Utah in a matchup of division leaders. Donovan Mitchell had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the NBA-leading Jazz’s second straight loss. He was ejected with 30.8 seconds left in overtime after picking up his second technical foul.
Pacers 114, Cavaliers 111: T.J. McConnell set an NBA record with nine steals in the first half and had his second career triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and a franchise-best 10 steals, leading Indiana past host Cleveland. McConnell was one off the NBA record of 11 steals in a game. Collin Sexton had 32 points, 10 assists and three steals for Cleveland. The Cavaliers had won four in a row.
Mavericks 87, Thunder 78: Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 13 rebounds with European sidekick Luka Doncic sidelined by a back issue going into his second All-Star appearance, and host Dallas beat Oklahoma City. The Mavs cruised most of the second half without the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer.
Pistons 129, Raptors 105: In Tampa, Fla., Wayne Ellington scored 25 points and Detroit beat virus-depleted Toronto to snap a three-game skid. Ellington was 8-for-11 from 3-point range and the Pistons were 20-for-41 from long range. Norman Powell had 36 points for Toronto, which was without Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw because of health and safety protocols.
Hawks 115, Magic 112: Trae Young scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead free throw with eight seconds left as visiting Atlanta rallied from 19 down in the second half to beat Orlando. Nikola Vucevic had 29 points for the Magic.
Bulls 128, Pelicans 124: Zach LaVine capped a 36-point performance with a driving layup and four free throws during the final minute, and visiting Chicago held off New Orleans. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 28 points.
Hornets 135, Timberwolves 102: Terry Rozier scored 31 points, Gordon Hayward added 23 and visiting Charlotte headed into the All-Star break with an easy victory over Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost nine in a row and 13 of 14. Minnesota is 0-5 since Chris Finch replaced Ryan Saunders as head coach.