Harden helps Rockets top Cavs
James Harden had a triple-double of 38 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to outduel fellow MVP contender LeBron James and lead the Houston Rockets to a 117-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
The Rockets were up by six when Nene made a layup before intercepting a bad pass by James. Patrick Beverley made a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead to 116-107 with less than two minutes left.
Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute to go and added two free throws after that to get the Cavaliers within four. But then Harden added a free throw to end Cleveland’s run and secure the victory.
It was the 16th tripledouble this season for Harden and his 31st game with at least 30 points.
James had 30 points for the Cavaliers, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points and later joined fans doing the wave as it circled TD Garden, leading the Boston Celtics over Chicago, sending the Bulls to their season-high fifth straight loss. The Celtics rushed to a 13-0 lead, shutting out Chicago until Dwyane Wade’s jumper nearly six minutes into the game. Thomas, the team’s leading scorer at 29.2 points per game, played only 24 minutes and sat the entire final quarter. He had some fun with the fans in the closing minutes of the blowout, taking part with teammate Jae Crowder in the crowd’s cheer. Avery Bradley had 17 points and Marcus Smart and Al Horford both added 12, and no Boston starter played more than 32 minutes. Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine paced the Bulls with 13 points apiece. Wade scored only eight points and Jimmy Butler had five.
Paul George scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the Miami Heat. Indiana fended off a late surge from the Heat, which had won 21 of their previous 25 games. After falling behind 93-85, Miami fought back and took the lead on Dion Waiters’ jumper with 3:24 left. But Indiana got clutch plays late from Jeff Teague and Myles Turner. Turner finished with 15 points for Indiana, while Teague had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.