Harden tough with career 15th triple double
HOUSTON – James Harden had his sixth triple-double of the season and the Houston Rockets made an NBA-record 24 3-pointers in a 122-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Harden had 29 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 15th career triple- double, passing Hakeem Olajuwon for the most in franchise history.
Ryan Anderson made Houston’s 24th 3- pointer with 32 seconds remaining, and the crowd roared in celebration of the record.
In picking up its ninth straight win, the Rockets attempted 61 3s – making 39.3 percent – to shatter their own record of 50 tries set earlier this season. They broke the NBA record for 3s made in a game, shared by Houston in 2013 and Orlando in 2009.
Eric Gordon added 29 points on 7-for-12 shooting from 3 for the Rockets.
Anthony Davis scored 19 points in 22 minutes for New Orleans.
In Toronto, Dwight Howard had 27 points and 15 rebounds, Dennis Schroder scored 24 points and Atlanta snapped Toronto’s four- game win streak, 125-121.
Kyle Korver had a season-high 19 points, including a season- best six 3-pointers, for Atlanta. Howard’s double-double was his 17th of the season.
DeMar DeRozan had 34 points for the Raptors, while Kyle Lowry added 27.
Down 113- 97 with 7: 10 to go, the Raptors went on a 14-4 run to get within six points on DeRozan’s dunk with 3:47 to play. The teams then exchanged the next six baskets. Schroder converted a free throw with 6.7 seconds left to re-establish a fourpoint Atlanta edge, and Lowry’s miss on a 3 with 1.9 seconds left ended Toronto’s comeback effort.
In Washington, John Wall had 29 points and 11 assists, leading a Washington offense that committed a season-low five turnovers against Detroit for a 122-108 win.
Bradley Beal added 25 points and Marcin Gortat had 12 to go with 14 rebounds for Washington, which also set a season high for points in its fourth win in five games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points to lead the Pistons. Andre Drummond added 13 points and 12 rebounds on a night when the teams combined for 11 players in double figures
The Pistons began the day as the league’s leader in fewest turnovers per game and only had nine against the Wizards. But the league’s secondbest defensive team trailed most of the evening and by double digits for almost all of the second half.
In Chicago , Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and Milwaukee routed Chicago 95-69 for a sweep of their home-and-home series.
Greg Monroe added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and fellow reserve Mirza Teletovic finished with 13 points. The Bucks (13-12) had dropped four of five before the pair of wins against the Bulls.
Chicago (13-13) shot 30 percent and lost for the sixth time in eight games in the opener of a three-game homestand. Nikola Mirotic did not play for the second straight night after he missed the pregame walkthrough, and Taj Gibson exited in the third quarter with a bruised hip.
Dwyane Wade scored 12 points for the Bulls, booed off the floor as the final seconds ticked off. Jimmy Butler was held to seven on 3-for-14 shooting.
In Philadelphia, Julius Randle scored nine of his 25 points in a dominant first quarter and Los Angeles snapped an eight- game losing streak with a 100-89 victory over Philadelphia.
Lou Williams added 18 points, and D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young had 15 apiece for the Lakers. They were playing the third game of a seven-game, 12-day trip – their longest of the season.
Joel Embiid scored 15 points for the 76ers. They have dropped eight straight at home to fall to an NBAworst 6-20.
In Miami, Blake Griffin scored 20 points, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick each added 17 and Los Angeles held off Miami 102-98 for its fourth consecutive win.
DeAndre Jordan had an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and scored the clinching basket with 7.7 seconds left for the Clippers, finishing off his 12-point, 19-rebound night.
Elsewhere, it was Orlando over Brooklyn, 118-111; Utah over Dallas 103-100, Sacramento over Memphis 96-92, and Boston over Charlotte 9688.