Rockets ride on Harden shoulders
MINNEAPOLIS – James Harden scored 49 points on a whopping 41 shots from the field and the undermanned Houston Rockets won their seventh straight game, 125-105, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
With Russell Westbrook resting, the Rockets needed Harden to shoulder an even bigger scoring load than usual. The 41 attempts are the most in his career, and the most in the NBA this season, surpassing the 37 Golden State’s D’Angelo Russell took in an overtime loss Nov. 8 in the same building in Minnesota.
Harden made 16 of the 41 shots, going 8 for 22 from 3-point range. He was 9 of 11 on free throws.
Ben McLemore scored 20 points. Undrafted rookie Chris Clemons scored a career-high 19 for the Rockets, who broke open the game with a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter. Austin Rivers also had 19 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves.
In San Antonio, CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Portland beat San Antonio to spoil Tim Duncan’s first shot at coaching following Gregg Popovich’s ejection.
Popovich was ejected after walking onto the court to berate official Jason Goldenberg over a noncall. Popovich calmly walked off the court following his first ejection of the season.
The Spurs responded with Duncan and fellow assistants Becky Hammon and Will Hardy coaching by committee, but it was Duncan calling the plays and screaming out instruction.
Damian Lillard added 22 points and Hassan Whiteside had 21 for Portland.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Spurs. They’ve lost five straight.
In Los Angeles, Paul George scored 37 points in his Clippers home debut, Lou Williams added 25, and Los Angeles led all the way in routing Atlanta.
The anticipated first game with George and Kawhi Leonard in the lineup together didn’t happen when Leonard sat out with a left knee contusion.
But the Clippers didn’t need both of their new superstars on a night when George tied his career high with six 3-pointers and made all 11 of his free throws in the team’s biggest blowout of the young season.
Trae Young had 20 points for the Hawks, who dropped their second in a row. They trailed by 52 points in the fourth.
In Indianapolis, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Milwaukee forced Indiana into its worst shooting performance of the season.
Brook Lopez added 15 points and eight rebounds. He had blocked five shots as the Pacers shot a season-low 32 percent from the field.
Milwaukee, 9-3 despite a road-heavy schedule to start the season, shot 45 percent. Donte DiVincenzo added 14 points,
Myles Turner, playing his first game since Oct. 30, had 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Indiana.
In Dallas, Luka Doncic had 26 points and 15 rebounds in Dallas’ victory over Toronto.
Doncic scored nine points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks added to a one-point lead. He made all seven free throws in the quarter and finished with a career-best 15 free throws in 19 attempts.
Delon Wright finished with 15 points, and banked in a fadeaway with five seconds left in the third quarter to send Dallas into the fourth quarter with a 78-77 edge. Wright added six points in the fourth quarter.
Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and matched his career best with 15 rebounds for Dallas.