Russell accepts HOF ring

Bill Russell finally accepted his Basketball Hall of Fame ring.

The 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ said on Twitter on Friday that he was presented with his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony.

The 85-year-old Boston Celtics great didn’t attend the induction ceremony in 1975. He said he didn’t deserve to be the first black player inducted, tweeting: “I felt others before me should have that honor.”

Rockets 111, Pacers 102 —

James Harden scored 44 points and the Houston Rockets used a big fourth quarter run to beat the Indiana Pacers.

Houston has won a season-high six games in a row and Harden has scored 36 points or more in five straight games to carry the Rockets as they deal with injuries to Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and Danuel House.

Hornets 109, Pistons 106 —

Malik Monk hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Charlotte past Detroit.

After Detroit’s Derrick Rose drove the lane and awkwardly threw the ball away with a second left, Charlotte got it at midcourt. Following a timeout, the Hornets threw several screens, with Monk flying around one near the top of the key. He caught a pass from Cody Martin and launched the winner.

Thunder 127, 76ers 119, OT —

Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points to help Oklahoma City outlast Philadelphia in overtime.

Chris Paul had 27 points for the Thunder, who had dropped three of four. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, and Terrance Ferguson finished with 19.

It was the biggest win of the season for a Thunder franchise that lost All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George in offseason trades. The crowd roared in the fourth quarter and overtime and made it seem, for a night, like nothing had changed.