Rockets halt Lakers in two OTs
Barnes, Smith steer Mavericks
HOUSTON — James Harden scored 40 points before leaving with a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter, and Chris Paul scored 15 of his 28 points in overtime as the Houston Rockets snapped a five-game skid with a 148-142 double-OT win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Los Angeles led by as many as 17, but couldn’t hold on as the team’s season-long losing streak stretched to six games.
Paul made a pair of free throws to tie it at 142 with about a minute left in the second overtime before Tarik Black blocked Kyle Kuzma’s shot on the other end to give Houston the ball back. P.J. Tucker grabbed a rebound on a miss by Paul and put it back up to put Houston on top.
Tucker blocked a 3-point attempt by Kuzma, and Paul added two more free throws to make it 146-142 with three seconds left. Paul made two more free throws after that to secure the win.
The Rockets had hoped to limit Paul’s playing time in
his second game back after missing three games with a groin injury. But with Harden out, he ended up playing 42 minutes.
Julius Randle of the Lakers set season highs with 29 points and 15 rebounds, but fouled out with about three minutes left in overtime.
Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball missed his fourth straight game because of a sprained left shoulder. He did not make the trip, remaining in California for treatment. MAVERICKS 116, THUNDER 113: In Oklahoma City, Harrison Barnes scored 24 points, Dennis Smith Jr. got 11 of his 19 points in the final 1:39 and Dallas closed 2017 with its fourth straight win.
Dirk Nowitzki added 13 points for Dallas, which had lost four straight in Oklahoma City and seven of nine overall against the Thunder.
Dallas won despite Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook recording his 12th triple-double of the season with 38 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. The Thunder had been 11-3 in December before consecutive home losses to Milwaukee and Dallas to end the month.
Paul George scored 25 points and Carmelo Anthony had 21 for Oklahoma City, combining to go 8 of
14 from 3-point range. WIZARDS 114, BULLS
110: In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Wizards over the Bulls.
Beal scored 15 straight points for Washington in the fourth as Washington rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the period. CLIPPERS 106, HORNETS 98: In Los Angeles, Lou Williams scored 40 points, Blake Griffin added 25 and the Clippers held off Charlotte. CELTICS 108, NETS 105: In Boston, Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Al Horford had 10 points and 10 rebounds and the Celtics edged Brooklyn. TIMBERWOLVES 107, PACERS 90: In Indianapolis, Jimmy Butler had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Minnesota never trailed. 76ERS 123, SUNS 110: In Phoenix, Dario Saric tied a season high with 27 points and Philadelphia beat the Suns after blowing an 18-point lead in one quarter. GRIZZLIES 114, KINGS 96: In Sacramento, Calif., Tyreke Evans had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists against his former team and Memphis beat the Kings.