Harden’s shot ends Rockets’ streak

LOS ANGELES — James Harden hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer while getting fouled with six seconds to play, sending the Los Angeles Clippers to their first victory since his arrival with a 106-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Harden dramatically drew the foul from Jae’Sean Tate and drilled his vintage 26-footer from atop the key before completing the four-point play to secure the win. The Clippers had lost six games in a row, including their first five since acquiring Harden from Philadelphia.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, but obviously it felt good to get a win,” Harden said. “You can’t take those for granted. But like I continue to say, it’s a building process, and I can see a lot of (areas for) improvement on both sides of the ball to correct and get used to.”

Jabari Smith Jr. forced Kawhi Leonard to give up the ball on the decisive possession, but Harden came through with the biggest shot of his short tenure with his hometown team. Harden finished with a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds against the Rockets, his team for nine seasons from 2012-2021.

Leonard added two free throws in the final second and finished with 26 points as the Clippers avoided their longest losing streak since the 2019 arrivals of the former Spurs star and Paul George, who added 23 points and eight rebounds.

Alperen Sengün had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, whose six-game winning streak ended because they allowed the Clippers to finish the game on a 12-1 run. Jalen Green added 20 points and Fred VanVleet had 19 points and 10 assists in the opener of Houston’s three-game California road trip.

Russell Westbrook had eight points in just 17 minutes after coming out of the Clippers’ starting lineup at Westbrook’s suggestion in an attempt to balance their rotation. The changes appeared to help for stretches, but Los Angeles still struggled to pull away until their stars took charge late.

White’s 3-pointer keys Boston’s win

Derrick White made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 26.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as the visiting Celtics recovered after blowing a 16-point halftime lead to beat the Toronto Raptors 108-105.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Celtics won their sixth straight meeting with Toronto.

Embiid scores 32 in 76ers’ victory

Joel Embiid had 32 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and the Philadelphia 76ers put away the Atlanta Hawks 126-116 on Friday night in an NBA In-Season Tournament game.

The Sixers improved to 2-1 in Group A play, with one game remaining. The Hawks dropped to 1-1.

Tobias Harris had a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds and Tyrese Maxey overcame a slow start to finish with 19 points and eight assists for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Danuel House Jr. had a season-high 14 points off the bench.

Pelicans stave off Nuggets’ charge

New Orleans stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram helped put Denver in a 20-point hole and also came through in the final minutes to stop Nikola Jokic and Co. from climbing all the way back.

Williamson scored 26 points, Ingram had 21 and the Pelicans held on for a 115-110 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night after Denver had pulled within a single point with 4:01 to play.

Durant, Booker lift Suns vs. Jazz

Kevin Durant scored 38 points and Devin Booker had 24 points and a careerhigh 15 assists to boost the Phoenix Suns to a 131-128 win over the Utah Jazz in an In-Season Tournament game Friday night.

Durant’s 3 lifted the Suns to a 124-115 lead before the Jazz rallied to get within one point in the final minute. Durant struck again with his sixth 3 with 18 seconds left.

James dominates to power Lakers

LeBron James matched his season-high with 35 points and the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Portland Trail Blazers their sixth straight loss with a 107-95 victory in an In-Season Tournament game on Friday night.

Anthony Davis added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and the Lakers moved to 3-0 in Group A with the victory that counts toward the regular season.