Nets lose Harden, beat Rockets
Star sits out fourth with hamstring tightness in win
Kyrie Irving had 31 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame the loss of James Harden to beat the Houston Rockets 120-108 on Wednesday night and move into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Harden sat out the fourth quarter against his former team with right hamstring tightness, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Nets put together the pivotal run without him, scoring 12 straight midway through the final period to turn a six-point deficit into a 107-101 lead, winning a game they trailed by 18 after less than five minutes.
Joe Harris added 28 points for the Nets, who didn’t even lead until the last half-minute of the third quarter but emerged with their 19th win in 22 games, improving to 26-9 since acquiring Harden from Houston on Jan. 14.
At 33-15, they are halfgame ahead of Philadelphia atop the East.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 20 points for the Rockets, who got Christian Wood back after missing the previous two games because of injury and illness but were without John Wall because of a knee injury.
Danuel House Jr. added 18 points and Wood had 14.
Nets coach Steve Nash said before the game his team had been in the doldrums lately and its level of play had dropped, and nothing changed in the first few minutes.
The Rockets jumped to a 24-6 lead, with an 8-for-9 start that included makes on all five 3-point attempts. They barely cooled off the rest of the quarter, going 15-for-19 (79 percent) and taking a 42-29 lead.
Brooklyn finally sustained a good stretch with 12-0 run in the third that cut a 13-point deficit to 82-81, and Houston went into the fourth up by one.
Timberwolves 102, Knicks 101: Anthony Edwards scored 11 of his 24 points over the final eight minutes, leading a fierce rally by Minnesota for a victory over former coach Tom Thibodeau and New York. Karlanthony Towns had 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Malik Beasley highlighted his 20 points with the go-ahead 3pointer with 37 seconds left for the Timberwolves, who outscored the Knicks 22-9 over the final 7:50. Julius Randle had 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks.
Heat 92, Pacers 87: Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler helped Miami rally from a 13point first-half deficit by spurring a decisive eight-point fourthquarter run to give the Heat a victory. Indiana was led by Myles Turner with 15 points and Caris Levert and Doug Mcdermott, who each had 14.
Trail Blazers 124, Pistons 101: Damian Lillard had 33 points and nine assists in Portland’s win. CJ Mccollum added 24 points and Carmelo Anthony and Robert Covington each scored 16 in Portland’s fourth straight win. Jerami Grant scored 30 points for Detroit.
Mavericks 113, Celtics 108: Luka Doncic had 36 points and eight rebounds and Dallas held on to beat Boston. Jalen Brunson added 21 points, including two late free throws, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points to help the Mavericks win their second straight. Jayson Tatum had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Boston. Jaylen Brown added 24.
Thunder 113, Raptors 103: Svi Mykhailiuk scored 10 of his season-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma City rallied to beat Toronto.
Jazz 111, Grizzlies 107: Mike Conley scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jordan Clarkson added 24 points and Utah beat Memphis for its seventh straight victory.
Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots and the Buffalo Sabres snapped an 18-game skid — the NHL’S longest in 17 years — with a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was the first off the bench as the final horn sounded and led a line of Sabres players high-fiving Ullmark in an arena without fans.
It was the first win for Buffalo since a 4-1 victory at New Jersey on Feb. 23 and ended an 0-15-3 streak. The slump was tied for the league’s 14th longest, and worst since the Pittsburgh Penguins had a 0-17-1 stretch during the 2003-04 season.
Buffalo won for just the third time at home, and first since a 4-3 shootout win over the Devils on Jan. 30.
Steven Fogarty scored