Down 22, Rockets rally to upend Knicks
James Harden said the Rockets “put on a show” in the second half against the Knicks in Houston on Saturday night, but the show he was talking about surprisingly had nothing to do with Houston’s potent offense.
In Houston’s 117-102 victory over the Knicks, Harden highlighted the Rockets’ third-quarter defense in whichthe Knicks scored just 13 points, a season-low for points in a quarter both for the Knicks as well as Houston opponents.
Along with Harden’s 37 points and 10 assists, it was that defensive tenacity that helped the Rockets rally back from a sizable early deficit.
“We couldn’t get stops,” Harden said. “They were making everything, we didn’t have any pressure defensively, and we couldn’t get our rhythm offensively.”
The Rockets erased New York’s early 22-point lead by making 18 threepointers and getting 44 points from their bench, led by 17 from Ryan Anderson.
“That’s what a team is about — the starters aren’t always going to get it done,” Harden said. “The bench came in with that energy, we started trimming the deficit down, and in the second half, we put on a show, defensively, especially in the third quarter.”
The Knicks rode hot shooting to build a 29-7 lead midway through the first quarter.
New York starters Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter sat out the game because of back ailments.
In place of Porzingis and Kanter, Michael Beasley and Kyle O’Quinn started. Beasley had a season-high 30 points. O’Quinn had his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The Rockets have hit at least 18 three-pointers in four straight games, twice as long as any other streak of 18 threes in NBA history.
Clippers 97, Kings 95: Blake Griffin made a 10-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining and had a season-high 33 points to lead Los Angeles over host Sacramento. Lou Williams made four three-pointers and had 18 points for the Clippers. Buddy Hield had career highs of seven three-pointers and 35 points for the Kings. Mavericks 97, Thunder 81: Dirk Nowitzki scored a seasonhigh 19 points, rookie Dennis Smith held his own against Russell Westbrook on the Dallas guard’s 20th birthday and the Mavericks beat visiting Oklahoma City. Smith finished with 15 points and four assists. Westbrook had 28 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Jazz 121, Bucks 108: Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and host Utah made a season-high 18 three-pointers in a victory over Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokoumnpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points, and Eric Bledsoe and Tony Snell each contributed 18 for the Bucks. Celtics 108, Pacers 98: Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and Al Horford added 21 to lead visiting Boston to victory over Indiana. Boston (18-3) outscored the Pacers 37-16 in the third quarter to turn a nine-point deficit into an 82-70 lead entering the final quarter. Marcus Smart had 15 points and six rebounds for the Celtics. The Pacers (11-9) were led by Myles Turner, who had 19 points. Raptors 112, Hawks 78: Norman Powell scored 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 16
and Toronto blew out host Atlanta. Toronto dominated so completely that it needed just 28 minutes from DeMar DeRozan. Kyle Lowry had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Dennis Schroder scored 14 points and Taurean Prince and Marco Belinelli each had 10 for the Hawks.
76ers 130, Magic 111: J.J. Redick hit eight three-pointers and scored 29 points, and host Philadelphia cruised without the injured Ben Simmons to victory over skidding Orlando. Joel Embiid scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and T.J. McConnell had 15 points and 13 assists subbing at point guard for Simmons. Redick hit six first-half treys. Elfrid Payton had 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Magic, who have lost eight straight.
Spurs 106, Hornets 86: Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge each had 17 points and seven rebounds, and San Antonio held Charlotte to 37 percent shooting. Rudy Gay added 15 points for the Spurs, who snapped Charlotte’s threegame home win streak. Kemba Walker had 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and Charlotte’s four other starters were a combined 6-for-29 from the field. Blazers 108, Wizards 105: CJ McCollum scored 26 points, including seven straight during a 10-0 game-closing run, and visiting Portland overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to top shorthanded Washington. Damian Lillard scored 29 points for the Blazers. Bradley Beal scored 26 points and Otto Porter added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.