Harden helps Rockets get past Grizzlies in OT
James Harden had 32 points and 10 assists and Josh Smith scored 21 points in his Rockets debut as Houston beat the host Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 in overtime Friday night.
The Rockets scored the first five points of overtime to take control. Though the Grizzlies got within two points, they could not wrest away the lead as they lost their fourth in a row and Houston leapfrogged them into first place in the Southwest Division.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 29 points, and Beno Udrih added 17.
Mavericks 102, Lakers 98: Rajon Rondo scored 21 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 14 to move up to eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list as host Dallas won its fifth in a row. ... Nowitzki surpassed Elvin Hayes (27,313 points) with a third-quarter jumper. Nowitzki has 27,322 points in 17 NBA seasons.
Cavaliers 98, Magic 89: LeBron James had 29 points and eight assists as visiting Cleveland, which was without point guard Kyrie Irving (bruised knee), rallied to win. ... Tobias Harris led Orlando with 16 points.
Bucks 107, Hawks 77: Reserve forward Jared Dudley made all 10 of his shots, including four three-pointers, and scored 24 points as visiting Milwaukee ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak. ... Paul Millsap had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
Pistons 119, Pacers 109: Greg Monroe had 19 points and 15 rebounds and Andre Drummond scored 20 points as host Detroit ended a four-game skid. ... Roy Hibbert paced Indiana with 19 points.
Pelicans 97, Spurs 90: Anthony Davis had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and Ryan Anderson added 22 points as host New Orleans dealt San Antonio its sixth loss in seven games. ... Tim Duncan had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Cory Joseph scored 20 for the Spurs.
Thunder 98, Hornets 75: Russell Westbrook scored 29 points as host Oklahoma City snapped Charlotte’s seasonhigh four-game win streak. ... Brian Roberts led the Hornets with 17 points. Nuggets 106, Timberwolves 102: Kenneth Faried had 26 points and a career-high 25 rebounds for host Denver. ... Thaddeus Young led Minnesota with 23 points.
Trail Blazers 114, 76ers 93: Damian Lillard had 28 points and nine assists for host Portland, which won for the seventh time in eight games. ... Wesley Matthews went 7-of-14 from three-point range and finished with 25 points for Portland, and Joel Freeland pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds, the most by a Blazer this season.
Suns 115, Kings 106: Marcus Morris had 20 points and nine rebounds as visiting Phoenix won its fifth in a row. ... Sacramento was without center DeMarcus Cousins because of a stomach illness.
Nets 109, Celtics 107: Jarrett Jack hit a tie-breaking jumper in the lane with 28 seconds to play and finished with 27 points for visiting Brooklyn. ... Jeff Green had 22 points and Jared Sullinger had 19 for Boston.
Briefly: Knicks forward Quincy Acy has been suspended one game without pay by the NBA for his flagrant foul against Wizards guard John Wall on Thursday. The league said Wall was fined $15,000 for escalating the confrontation by pushing Acy. ... Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao had surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, an injury that ended his season and altered Cleveland’s title hopes. There is no timetable for his return.