Paul, Rockets end losing skid
Chris Paul had 32 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, Carmelo Anthony added a season-high 28 points and the Houston Rockets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 119-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night in New York.
Clint Capela finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Gordon contributed 21 points for the Rockets, who had stumbled to a 1-5 start a season after winning 65 games and falling a game short of the NBA Finals.
They snapped out of their slump thanks to one of the best games as a Rocket for Paul, who had season bests in points and assists in the final game before his workload should ease Saturday with the expected return of James Harden. The league MVP missed his third straight game with a strained left hamstring and coach Houston’s Chris Paul jumps toward the basket during Friday’s game against Brooklyn. Mike D’Antoni said he would probably return for the second half of a back-to-back in Chicago.
Anthony bounced back from a 2-for-12, eight-point performance against Portland by coming off the bench to hit six 3-pointers.
Caris LeVert scored 29 points for the Nets, who got off to a sizzling start before the Rockets turned around the game.
One of the NBA’s most potent offenses had been held below 90 points in two of the previous three games after doing so only three times all last season. The offense was back Friday, but the defense took a while to get going.
THUNDER 134, WIZARDS 111: Oklahoma City picked up its fourth consecutive victory by beating Washington behind Russell Westbrook’s 23 points and 12 assists. Paul George wound up with 17 points to surpass 10,000 for his career, and Jerami Grant scored 22 for the Thunder. CAVS’ LOVE HAS SURGERY: Cleveland forward Kevin Love will be out at least six weeks — and maybe longer — after surgery on his left foot. Love, who injured his left big toe in Cleveland’s first exhibition game, had the operation Friday in New York at the Hospital for Special Surgery. The team said his timeline to return to basketball activity will be updated in about six weeks. CAVS CALL LAWSUIT ‘FRIVOLOUS’: The Cavaliers said an agediscrimination lawsuit filed by former assistant coach Jim Boylan is “frivolous” and a “shameless cash grab.” Boylan filed a claim Thursday. The team did not pick up its contract option last summer on the 63-year-old Boylan, who spent five seasons with the team working on staffs under David Blatt and Tyronn Lue. In his lawsuit, Boylan contends general manager Koby Altman told him owner Dan Gilbert wanted a younger coach.