Harden’s 40 leads Rockets over Pelicans
HOUSTON >> James Harden had 40 points and came an assist shy of a triple-double to lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
Rookie sensation Zion Williamson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, whose threegame winning streak was snapped.
Harden, who added 10 rebounds and nine assists, poured in 26 points in the first half and cooled down in the second half. But he still had his second straight game with 30 or more points after failing to score 30 in his previous four games as he worked through a shooting slump.
Jrue Holiday had three points before Josh Hart made one of two free throws to allow New Orleans to cut the lead to 110-107 with about two minutes to go.
Eric Gordon added a basket seconds after that and Danuel House hit a 3-pointer to make it 115-107 with less than a minute left to seal the victory.
Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 12 rebounds for
New Orleans.
Houston went with its small lineup again as center Clint Capela missed his second straight game and the third in four games with a bruised right heel. Russell Westbrook added 22 points for the Rockets and Ben McLemore had 22 off the bench.
The Pelicans led by one to start the fourth and scored the first four points of the quarter to make it 97-92. But Harden made a 3-pointer before finding Westbrook for a layup to tie it up with about 10 minutes left.
The Pelicans were up by two points later in the fourth when House made a 3-pointer to put Houston up 102-101. Both teams missed numerous shots after that and Houston finally got back on the board with a layup by House with about seven minutes to go. Harden made a layup after that to push Houston’s lead to 106-101.
Hart made the first field goal for New Orleans in more four minutes after that to cut the lead to 106-103 midway through the fourth.
The teams combined to miss nine shots over the next 2 ½ minutes before Harden added two points on free throws that pushed Houston’s run to 9-2 and made it 108-103 with 3 ½ minutes to go. BUCKS 129, SUNS 108 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 19 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame Devin Booker’s 32 points to beat the Phoenix Suns 129-108 Sunday.
Antetokounmpo reached the 30-point mark for the 26th time and has had at least 10 rebounds in 23 of those games. He fell one assist shy of his fifth triple-double this season for the second straight game.
Fellow All-Star Khris Middleton had 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Brook Lopez had 17 points. The Bucks shot 49.5% and made 15 of 38 from 3-point range.
DeAndre Ayton had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns, who shot 39% and made just 6 of 23 from deep. Phoenix has lost five of seven games.
PISTONS 128, NUGGETS 123 >> Andre Drummond had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons rallied from an early 21-point deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 128-123 in overtime Sunday, snapping their five-game losing streak.
Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Bruce Brown scored 19 for Detroit. Drummond put the Pistons ahead to stay with a dunk early in overtime, and Brown added a 3-pointer that made it 116-112.
Drummond fouled out with 2:43 left, but Detroit was able to hold on.
Nikola Jokic had 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Denver. His 3-pointer with 29.4 seconds left made it 126-123, but Thon Maker answered with an alley-oop dunk at the other end to push the lead to five.
The Nuggets were playing for the third time in four days, and the 12:30 p.m. start time — 10:30 a.m. back in Denver — made for another potential challenge. The Nuggets looked just fine at the outset, making 16 of their first 20 shots from the field. They led 28-7 and 31-10, and it was 44-30 at the end of the first quarter.
Detroit rallied in the second, tying the game with a 21-8 run and eventually taking a 68-65 lead into halftime. It was tight down the stretch. Jackson missed a runner in the final seconds of regulation with the score tied at 111.
Rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. joined the list of injured Denver players, missing the game because of a right ankle problem. The Nuggets are also without Paul Millsap (left knee), Jamal Murray (left ankle) and Mason Plumlee (right foot).