Harden ties career best with 61, Rockets beat Spurs 111-105
HOUSTON — James Harden matched his career high with 61 points, including 27 in the first quarter, to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111- 105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.
Harden hit three straight 3- pointers to give the Rockets a 103- 100 lead and scored all of Houston's points in a 13-2 run late in the fourth quarter.
Harden topped the 50-point mark for the eighth time this season, compared with 10 such performances from the rest of the league combined. He matched his career- best total set earlier this season against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
NUGGETTS 111, KNICKS 93:
Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 17 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 18 points, and Denver beat the Knicks in New York for its sixth straight victory.
Gary Harris chipped in 14 points for Denver, which moved into a tie with defending champion Golden State for first place in the Western Conference with 11 games remaining for each team.
MAGIC 123, GRIZZLIES 119, OT:
Terrence Ross scored 31 points and Evan Fournier had 27, including the gameclinching free throws, and the Magic rallied to beat Memphis in overtime in Orlando, Florida. Nikola Vucevic added 25 points for the Magic, who came from 14 points behind in the fourth quarter to tie it in regulation and go on to win their fourth straight. Memphis got 29 points from Tyler Dorsey, who replaced Mike Conley in the lineup. Conley didn't play because of what the team called "general soreness." Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 24 rebounds, and Justin Holiday scored 22 for the Grizzlies.
CLIPPERS 110, CAVALIERS 108:
Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and the Clippers continued their torrid March, edging the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points while Lou Williams had 15 for the Clippers, who are 9-1 this month and closing in on a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tip in
Jimmer Fredette is back in the NBA.
The Phoenix Suns signed the former BYU star for the rest of the season Friday with a team option for 2019-20. The 30-year-old Fredette spent the last three seasons playing for Shanghai of the Chinese Basketball Association, leading the league in scoring last season with 36.9 points per game.