San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Harden puts on show in road win
James Harden is on a run the NBA hasn’t seen since Oscar Robertson.
Harden had 41 points and six assists to become the first player since the Hall of Fame guard to record at least 35 points and five assists in seven consecutive games, and the Houston Rockets beat the host New Orleans Pelicans 108-104 on Saturday night.
“That’s what I play for,” Harden said when asked about being compared to the Big O. “That’s what you play the game of basketball for, to be mentioned in the name with the greats.”
Harden had 26 points in the first half and reached 40 for the third straight game. He was 7 for 16 from three-point range and made all 14 of his freethrow attempts. He regularly juked Pelican defenders off their feet to draw fouls, including two from behind the arc for another easy six points.
“I’ve said it a thousand times — and I don’t think I’m wrong because I get to watch it every night — but you don’t get better than what he does offensively,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “No one’s better.”
Anthony Davis looked sluggish a night after scoring a season-high 48 points in a victory over Dallas, taking only five shots in the first half and finishing with 22 points. Julius Randle led the Pelicans with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Spurs 122, Clippers 111: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 38 points for visiting San Antonio. DeMar DeRozan had 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Spurs, who won for the fifth time in their past seven games. Danilo Gallinari had 21 points for the Clippers.
Bucks 129, Nets 115: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, helping to turn away Brooklyn’s attempt to rally from a 23-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, and host Milwaukee cruised past undermanned New Jersey.
Nuggets 122, Suns 118: Jamal Murray scored 46 points and made a careerhigh nine three-pointers to carry Western Conference-leading Denver to a road victory over Phoenix. Murray was 16 for 24 from the field with the second-most points he’s scored this season.
Hawks 111, Cavaliers 108: Trae Young and Vince Carter each scored 21 points, while John Collins added 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead host Atlanta past Cleveland. Atlanta, enjoying a rare run of success in its first season of rebuilding under new coach Lloyd Pierce, has won five of six. Cleveland dropped its sixth in a row.
Wizards 130, Hornets 126: Trevor Ariza scored 24 points and was one of seven Washington players in double figures as the Wizards beat visiting Charlotte. Thomas Bryant added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which won for the third time in 12 games.
Celtics 112, Grizzlies 103: Kyrie Irving had 26 points and 13 assists, Al Horford added 18 points, including a pair of key three-pointers in the closing 1:32, and Boston rallied for a road win over Memphis. Marcus Morris scored 22 points for Boston, and Gordon Hayward had 14 off the bench.
Jazz 129, Knicks 97: Rudy Gobert had 25 points and 16 rebounds as host Utah defeated New York. Dante Exum scored 13 points and had a career-high 13 assists in his first start of the season. New York lost its seventh straight.
Surgery for Wall: Wizards point guard John Wall will have seasonending surgery to address bone spurs in his left heel. He is expected to miss six to eight months.