NBA PLAYERS, REFS TO TALK THIS WEEKEND
Unions representing both sides will meet this weekend in Los Angeles amid an unusually high number of ejections, technical fouls and tension.
MINNEAPOLIS — James Harden had 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-108 on Tuesday night for their ninth straight victory.
“I knew we were making our shots, but that fourth quarter, that’s what we’re capable of,” said Rockets guard James Harden. “I think it was a four-point game and we went on a 12-0. That’s how fast it was.”
Ryan Anderson scored 21 points off the bench as the Rockets (43-13) snapped Minnesota’s 13-game home winning streak and pulled within a half-game of the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA.
Houston has won 16 of its past 18 games.
The Rockets made 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when they scored 42 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota. CAVALIERS 120, THUNDER 112: In Oklahoma City, LeBron
James scored 37 points, as Cleveland got a much different result this time against Oklahoma City.
It was the Cavaliers’ second straight win since adding George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in trades, and their fourth straight victory overall.
J.R. Smith added 18 points for the Cavaliers, who lost to the Thunder 148-124 on Jan. 20 with a very different roster.
RAPTORS 115, HEAT 112: In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Kyle Lowry had 22 as Toronto beat Miami for its sixth straight win.
Toronto (40-16) improved its NBA-best home record to 24-4 and ensured it will be the top team in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break.
Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who also won six straight between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10 and again between Dec. 13 and 23.
BUCKS 97, HAWKS 92: In Milwaukee, Khris Middleton had 21 points to lead a balanced attack for Milwaukee and All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo hit two key buckets in the final 3-plus minutes to spark a win over Atlanta.
Tyler Zeller added 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting in his first game in Milwaukee since joining the team on the road before the trade deadline last week.
The Bucks improved to 9-2 since Joe Prunty took over as interim coach following the firing of Jason Kidd, getting back in the race for a top-four playoff seed in the East. KINGS 114, MAVERICKS 109: In Dallas, Zach Randolph scored 22 points and Sacramento used a big first half to beat Dallas.
Bogdan Bogdanovich added 19 points for the Kings, who have won four of five in Dallas after losing 22 in a row here from 2003 to 2016. Seven Kings scored in double figures. NUGGETS 117, SPURS 109: In Denver, Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assist to lead Denver’s comeback victory over San Antonio.
The Nuggets outscored the Spurs 35-21 over the final 14 minutes of the game.