Rockets top Mavs, move ahead of Griz
James Harden scored 24 points, former Dallas guard Jason Terry hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer and the Houston Rockets beat the Mavericks 108-101 Thursday night.
The Rockets moved a half-game ahead of Memphis in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference behind Golden State.
Even with the loss, the Mavericks are likely to end up with the seventh seed after a win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday put them four games up on the Thunder and gave them the tiebreaker. They’re now 3½ ahead with six to go.
Trevor Ariza scored 19 for Houston, while Terry had 10 and Corey Brewer, another key member of Dallas’ championship run in 2011, finished with 14.
Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 21 points.
The Mavericks played the Rockets all four times this season on the second night of a back-to-back, but this time the Rockets were doing it too and playing for the fourth time in five nights.
That meant two games without Dwight Howard, who isn’t playing back-tobacks after missing two months with swelling in his right knee. He played in Dallas, but was limping before leaving just 4 minutes into the third quarter. He didn’t even get off the floor on two alley-oop attempts before leaving in the third.
Howard returned to start the fourth, missed a jump hook in the lane on the first possession but went high for an offensive rebound, and then straight back up for a dunk the next time down the court for Houston.
The Rockets are still easing Howard back in, playing him 18 minutes a night after sitting him in a win over Sacramento. He returned from the knee injury last week. Howard finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
ANOTHER GAME
Cavaliers 114, Heat 88 at Cleveland: Miami star Dwyane Wade went down with a knee injury in the first half, and the Heat’s playoff chances took another major blow with a loss to Cleveland.
Wade sustained a bruised left knee in the first half and Miami didn’t have the firepower to stop the Cavs, who got 23 points apiece from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving and won their 17th straight at home. James added eight rebounds and seven assists against his former team.
James also moved into 20th place on the NBA’s career scoring list, passing Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.
Kevin Love sat out with a sore back after being elbowed in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia.
The Heat dropped into a tie for eighth place with idle Boston in the Eastern Conference standings.
Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside scored 17 each for Miami.
DEVELOPMENT
LeBron calls the shots: Cavaliers star LeBron James says he’s been calling plays throughout his NBA career and it would be foolish for a coach not to let him do so.
James likened the freedom he has on the floor to how NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have leeway to change plays in the huddle. The four-time NBA MVP said he doesn’t have the luxury to call all of Cleveland’s plays, but the team’s coaching staff trusts him to make the right read.
James said he calls plays “every game. I’ve done it every game for like the last 11 years.”