Clippers overcome Harden’s repeat 51
Rivers’ 36 leads L.A. by Rockets; Westbrook delivers win for OKC
After Austin Rivers scored just six points in the first half on Friday night against the Houston Rockets, his Los Angeles Clippers teammates had a message for him.
“Austin, you’ve got to be more aggressive,” Rivers recalled them saying.
He certainly took their advice, scoring 30 of his career-high 36 points after halftime to allow the Clippers to withstand James Harden’s second straight 51-point performance in a 128-118 victory.
“If we were going to win I had to start being in attack mode,” Rivers said. “And right from the get-go my whole attention was to just be aggressive and take the fight to them.”
The Rockets, who had a 14-game winning streak snapped by the Lakers on Wednesday, lost consecutive games for just the second time this season and the first since Oct. 28 and 30.
Rivers made a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to play that pushed the lead to 117-111. Ryan Anderson made two free throws for Houston before C.J. Williams added a layup for the Clippers.
Former Rocket Lou Williams, who had 32 points off the bench, then made his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter to make it 122113 before a turnover by Harden spurred coach Mike D’Antoni to call a timeout.
Rivers made another 3-pointer after the timeout and Harden made a layup before fouling out a few seconds later. He received a technical for arguing about the call and was ejected from the game.
“They played well and they hit big shots,” D’Antoni said. “We did not do what we were supposed to do.”
It was Harden’s third 50-point game this season and he became the first player in franchise history to have two straight 50-point games. He’s the first NBA player to score 50 or more in consecutive games since Kobe Bryant did so in four straight in March 2007.
THUNDER 120, HAWKS 117
>> Russell Westbrook hit a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to cap a 30-point, 15-assist outing, and Oklahoma City held off Atlanta.
Carmelo Anthony added 24 points on 7-of-12 3-point shooting and Paul George scored 17 for the Thunder, who have won five of their last six after an 11-14 start.
Atlanta, in last place in the Southeast Division, made OKC work for this one, rallying after falling behind by 16 points.
The Hawks led 92-88 with 8:49 left after a basket by Kent Bazemore. Westbrook re-entered the game and led the Thunder on a 16-5 run. Anthony’s 3-pointer with 5:34 left gave Oklahoma City a 10497 lead.
The Hawks came back again, eventually tying the game at 117 on two free throws by Ersan Ilyasova with 11.1 seconds left. But Westbrook made the final shot over Atlanta’s Taurean Prince. NUGGETS 102, BLAZERS 85 >> Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and Denver won for the first time in Portland since 2013. HEAT 113, MAVERICKS 101 >> Wayne Ellington tied a career high with 28 points, Josh Richardson scored 24 and injury-ravaged Miami never trailed on the way to beating Dallas.
Tyler Johnson scored 19 and Bam Adebayo scored 14 for Miami, which shot 64 percent second-best in franchise history. PELICANS 111, MAGIC 97 >> DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and New Orleans never trailed in a win over Orlando. Anthony Davis added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday had 24 points for New Orleans. PISTONS 104, KNICKS 101 >> Andre Drummond had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Detroit rallied to beat New York.
Tobias Harris scored 24 points for the Pistons. NETS 119, WIZARDS 84 >> Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 21 points and 11 rebounds in Brooklyn’s victory over Washington. BUCKS 109, HORNETS 104 >> Khris Middleton scored 28 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 and Milwaukee overcame a late deficit.