ROCKETS THROTTLE CLIPPERS BEHIND HARDEN’S LEAD

houston»James Harden had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and the Rockets rolled to a 140-116 victory over the Clippers on Friday.

Clippers guard Austin Rivers and father/coach Doc Rivers were both ejected in the second quarter as Los Angeles dropped its fifth straight.

It’s the seventh triple-double this season for Harden and his third straight 30-point game. Montrezl Harrell added a career-high 29 points to help Houston win its third in a row.

Raymond Felton had a seasonhigh 26 points to lead the Clippers.

Chris Paul missed the game because of a sore left hamstring, but J.J. Redick returned.

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Isaiah Thomas scored 29 of his career-high 52 points in the fourth quarter, setting a club record for points in a period and leading the Celtics to a 117-114 victory over the Heat. Thomas hit six 3-pointers and converted a three-point play in the fourth quarter and broke the franchise record of 24 points in a quarter set by Larry Bird in 1983 and matched by Todd Day in 1995. Thomas also topped his career high of 44 points he scored on Dec. 20, at Memphis. … Paul George scored 32 points, including 11 in the final 4½ minutes Friday, to help the Pacers snap a four-game losing streak with a 111-101 victory over the Bulls. George broke a 97-97 tie by making a jumper with 4:07 left, then made three free throws on Indiana’s next possession and a layup with 2:52 left for a 102-99 lead. … Behind a season-high 27 points from Trey Burke off the bench and another double-double from John Wall, the Wizards beat the Nets 118-95 to win their third consecutive game and reach .500 for the first time this season. … Anthony Davis had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and the Pelicans won their fourth straight game, 104-92 over the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 13 rebounds, but couldn’t prevent the Knicks from dropping their third straight. … Andrew Wiggins scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 16 rebounds to help the Timberwolves to a 116-99 victory over the Bucks. … Paul Millsap scored 26 points and Kyle Korver added a season-high 22 to lead the Hawks to a 105-98 victory over the Pistons. … Tony Parker and Danny Green both scored 18 points as the Spurs beat the Trail Blazers 110-94. Jonathon Simmons poured in 19 points off the bench for San Antonio.