SPORTS DIGEST
BASKETBALL
Rockets, in a game where Harden shot seven of 13 on threes, grabbed six boards and had seven assists.
The game was closer than the score might suggest, though. With just minutes to go, Kawhi Leonard put the Clippers into an 86-85 lead, but Harden responded by converting a driving layup and then drilled a three-pointer to put Houston back in control.
Lebron James was in sparkling form as the Los Angeles Lakers hammered the Golden State Warriors 120-94. James scored 23 points while his 12 assists included an array of half-court and behind-the-back passes, before he was able to sit out the fourth quarter with his team home and dry.
The Orlando Magic made the fourth quarter really count against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Playing without All-star Joel Embiid out with a sore knee - the 76ers were outpointed 32-15 in the final stanza and lost 112-97 to the Magic. Nikola Vucevic, with 25 points, was the highest scorer on the night, while Aaron Gordon added 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets lost 117119 at home to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Minnesota Timberwolves won 129-114 over the San Antonio Spurs and in Portland, the Trail Blazers lost 106-114 to the Toronto Raptors.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: Boston Celtics 140 Washington Wizards 133,Charlotte Hornets 117 Memphis Grizzlies 119,Houston Rockets 102 LA Clippers 93,LA Lakers 120 Golden State Warriors 94,Minnesota Timberwolves 129 San Antonio Spurs 114,Orlando Magic 112 Philadelphia 76ers 97,Portland Trail Blazers 106 Toronto Raptors 114.
GOLF
1st rd scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):
63 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
66 Thomas Detry (Bel)
67 Guido Migliozzi (Spa)
68 Ernie Els (Rsa), Zander Lombard (Rsa), Lee Westwood
69 Marcus Kinhult (Swe), Oliver Wilson, Paul Waring, Jorge Campillo (Spa), George Coetzee (Rsa), Joachim B. Hansen (Den), Jason Scrivener (Aus), Sebastian Soderberg (Swe), Tommy Fleetwood, Richard Sterne (Rsa)
70 Kurt Kitayama (USA), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Aaron Rai, Shubhankar Sharma (Ind), Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa), Nacho Elvira (Spa)
71 Tom Lewis, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Matthew Fitzpatrick, Padraig Harrington
72 Richie Ramsay, Mike Lorenzo-vera (Fra), Kalle Samooja (Fin), Joost Luiten (Ned), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Matthew Southgate, David Lipsky (USA), Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) 73 Steven Brown, Matt Wallace, Justin Harding (Rsa), Alex Noren (Swe), Joakim Lagergren (Swe), Romain Langasque (Fra), Scott Jamieson, Haotong Li (Chn), Robert Macintyre, Jordan Smith, Thomas Pieters (Bel)
74 Adri Arnaus (Spa), Ryan Fox (Nzl), Branden Grace (Rsa), Ian Poulter, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Rafael Cabrera-bello (Spa), Gavin Green (Mal), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
75 Andy Sullivan, Chris Paisley
76 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)
77 Scott Hend (Aus), Andrea Pavan (Ita)
81 Lucas Bjerregaard (Den)
ICE HOCKEY
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE: Calgary Flames 1 Dallas Stars 3, New Jersey Devils 2 Ottawa Senators 4, New York Islanders 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 4 (SO), Philadelphia Flyers 1 Washington Capitals 2, Vegas Golden Knights 3 Chicago Blackhawks 5.