Harden piles up 44 points as Rockets rock Grizzlies
JAMES Harden scored 44 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and led the Houston Rockets to a 107-100 victory over the host Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Harden was the foundation of a bounce-back effort for the Rockets, whose defense was torched for an average of 126 points in backto-back losses at Brooklyn and Miami over the weekend.
Houston, playing without Russell Westbrook (rest) for the first time this season, leaned heavily on Harden, who added six assists.
Memphis hung tough without second-year forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (right knee), as the Rockets and Grizzlies alternated the lead seven times with 15 ties. But Memphis blew a golden opportunity early in the third quarter.
The Grizzlies held the Rockets to just one field goal over the opening four-plus minutes, but they led by only four points, 68-64, and then Houston's Eric Gordon sank a 3-pointer at the 7:19 mark to cut the deficit to one point.
Harden and Ben McLemore later combined for all of the points in an 11-0 run that carried Houston to its first double-digit lead at 81-70.
Gordon finished with 16 points, while Danuel House Jr. added 15 for Houston.
Rookie guard Ja Morant paced the Grizzlies with 23 points. Dillon Brooks chipped in 17 points and nine boards.
Booker scores 40 as Suns end 76ers’ unbeaten start
Devin Booker scored a season-high 40 points on Monday, and Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 10 assists as the host Phoenix Suns handed the Philadelphia 76ers their first loss of the season, 114-109.
Aron Baynes had 15 points and made three 3-pointers, Kelly Oubre scored 14 points, and the Suns shot 53.2 percent from the field.
Phoenix won for the fifth time in seven games, its best start since beginning the 201314 season with the same record.
Al Horford had a seasonhigh 32 points and tied a career high with five 3-pointers, Tobias Harris had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Furkan Korkmaz contributed a careerhigh 20 points for the Sixers.
Philadelphia had been the last undefeated team in the league after winning its first five. The 76ers played without leading scorer and rebounder Joel Embiid, who served the final game of a two-game suspension after an altercation with Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns last Wednesday. Kurkmaz started in his place.
Irving puts up 39 as Nets topple Pelicans
Kyrie Irving totaled 39 points and nine assists while leading six Brooklyn players in double figures as the Nets nearly blew all of a 20-point lead but recorded for a 135125 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night in New York.
Irving scored at least 20 points for the seventh straight game, matching Brook Lopez for the most in Nets history since the franchise moved from New Jersey in 2012.
He posted his third 30-point game and scored 24 of his points after halftime while shooting 13 of 21 from the floor overall and hitting all 11 of his free-throw attempts.
The Nets rebounded from blowing a 14-point lead at Detroit on Saturday and headed into a five-game road trip at 3-4.
They withstood a careerhigh 40 points from New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram and survived allowing 48 points in the third quarter.
Caris LeVert added 23 for the Nets, who shot 53.3 percent and survived committing 23 turnovers. Joe Harris contributed 19 points, and Jarrett Allen collected 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Nets produced their highest point total of the season.