HARDEN IS SOLID IN THE CLUTCH FOR ROCKETS VICTORY

houston» James Harden scored 38 points, including eight down the stretch, and tied a career high with 17 assists to help the Rockets pull away for a 117107 victory over the Pelicans. The Pelicans had scored seven points in a row, capped by a 3pointer from DeMarcus Cousins, to cut the lead to two with about two minutes left. Harden scored Houston’s first points in almost 2½ minutes after that on a driving layup to extend the lead. And after a bucket by Cousins on the other end, Harden made three free throws to leave the Rockets up 110-105 with about 90 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Harden soon after that put it out of reach, and gave the MVP candidate a standing ovation from the home crowd. Anthony Davis had 33 points and 16 rebounds and Cousins added 29 points.

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

LeBron James had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Cavaliers bounced back from their worst defensive outing of the season against the Nuggets on Wednesday with a 112-105 win over the Hornets. Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped Charlotte’s three-game winning streak and remained atop the Eastern Conference standings. … Rookies Dario Saric and Shawn Long had career highs in scoring, leading the 76ers to a 117-107 win against the Bulls. … Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Bucks over the Hawks 100-97. … John Wall scored 22 points despite dealing with migraine headache symptoms earlier in the day, Bradley Beal added 19 points and the Wizards cruised past the Nets 129-108. … Elfrid Payton had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, Terrence Ross scored 18 points and the Magic routed the Pistons 115-87.

FOOTNOTE

Shaq gets statue at Staples. The Lakers honored Shaquille O’Neal with a bronze statue of the Hall of Fame center who helped them to three consecutive NBA titles outside Staples Center. The statue of him completing a monster dunk with his legs in the air is 9 feet and weighs 1,200 pounds. It is suspended 10 feet in the air. O’Neal is 7-foot-1 and was 325 in his playing days.