Nets’ Harden triumphs in return to Houston
▶ Has triple in 1st game against former team
James Harden returned to Houston for the first time since his tumultuous departure from the Rockets on Wednesday, posting a triple- double to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 132- 114 victory over his former NBA team.
Harden, greeted by a first- quarter video tribute, cheers and a smattering of boos, delivered 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists to fuel Brooklyn, where he finally landed in January after demanding a trade.
“I’m excited. I mean, we got a win,” Harden said. “We’ve been playing very, very good basketball, and to finish out strong like this going into the All- Star break means a lot to us.”
Harden was grateful for the tribute video that showcased his accomplishments in Houston, including the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player award and the league scoring title the past three seasons.
He became just the sixth player in NBA history to record a triple- double in his first game against his former team, ably helping the Nets overcome the continued absence of Kevin Durant.
Two West Coast games came down to the wire, as the Portland Trail Blazers edged the Golden State Warriors 108106 and the Sacramento Kings beat the short- handed Los Angeles Lakers 123- 120.
The defending NBA champions Lakers were again without out injured forward Anthony Davis and d missing LeBron James for the first time ime this season as he sat out with a sprained ained left ankle.
In their absence, Germany’s Dennis Schroder led the Lakers kers with 28 points and nine assists.
But Schroder came me up empty on a drive to the basket with 5.9 seconds remaining and the Lakers kers down by one. Montrezl Harrell grabbed abbed the rebound but missed the putback back attempt, Kyle Kuzma extended the he Lakers’ possession but also couldn’t n’t score and Harrison Barnes sealed it for the Kings with a pair of free throws.
Indiana point guard ard T. J. McConnell was the star in the Pacers’ acers’ 114- 111 victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland, putting up an unconventional entional triple- double comprising 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals.
McConnell broke e the NBA record for steals in a first half with nine and just one shy of the best est mark in a game, which stands at 11. It was the 11th triple- double including steals since steals were recognized as a statistical category in the 1973- 74 season. n.