Highlights from Wednesday's NBA games

[January 12, 2017]  Jan 12 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights from National Basketball Association games on Wednesday:

Timberwolves 119, Rockets 105

Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns posted his ninth straight double-double with 23 points and 18 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat the Houston Rockets 119-105 on Wednesday night.

Ricky Rubio had 10 points and tied his career high and a franchise best with 17 assists in the Timberwolves' second straight win.

Brandon Rush had 12 points on four three-pointers in his first start for Minnesota and Shabazz Muhammad added 20 points off the bench.

The Timberwolves (13-26) were without third-leading scorer Zach LaVine.

James Harden had 33 points, six rebounds and 12 assists for Houston (31-10), which had its league-best, nine-game winning streak snapped. Ryan Anderson added 18 points, but the Rockets shot 41.4 percent from the floor and 15-of-42 on three-pointers.

Thunder 103, Grizzlies 95

Russell Westbrook collected his 18th triple-double to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over Memphis at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. The 18 triple-doubles is the most by any player since Magic Johnson during the 1981-82 season.

Enes Kanter poured in 19 points and 13 rebounds. Victor Oladipo added 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting as the Thunder improved to 24-16. Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 22 points and six assists. Chandler Parsons and Zach Randolph each scored 14 points.

Celtics 117, Wizards 108

Isaiah Thomas did it again. The Celtics' little big man, struggling through a tough shooting night, scored eight consecutive points in 47 seconds, 14 in 4:24 in the fourth quarter, igniting undermanned Boston to a victory over Washington.

In addition to propelling his team to its fifth win in six games, Thomas, who high-fived boxing great Floyd Mayweather after one of his fourth-quarter bombs, got a measure of revenge against Washington's John Wall.

Thomas thought he should have been player of the month for December, but the award went to Wall. On Wednesday, Thomas scored 38 points, 20 in the fourth quarter, and added six rebounds and five assists. Wall scored a season-low nine points to go along with 10 assists and seven rebounds. He shot 4-of-21 from the floor.

 Trail Blazers 102, Cavaliers 86

CJ McCollum scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, and Allen Crabbe came off the bench for 24 points as Portland hammered Cleveland.

McCollum hit the 25-point barrier for the seventh consecutive game, and Crabbe was 9 of 11 from the field as the Trail Blazers won a second straight game for the first time since early December.

LeBron James collected 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Love had 17 points and eight boards for the Cavaliers, who lost for the second straight time and are 2-2 on their six-game road trip. Cleveland shot a season-low 34.1 percent from the field, including 9-of-30 (30 percent) from three-point range.

Clippers 105, Magic 96

J.J. Redick scored 22 points, and Los Angeles topped Orlando to win its fifth in a row.

Chris Paul contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists and DeAndre Jordan collected 20 rebounds and 10 points for the Clippers. Jordan grabbed 20 or more boards in a game for the sixth time this season, which leads the NBA.

Aaron Gordon scored 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 4 of 7 from long distance for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight and the sixth out of their past seven. Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who lost to the Clippers for the seventh consecutive time.

76ers 98, Knicks 97

T.J. McConnell nailed a short jumper at the buzzer, lifting Philadelphia to a victory over New York, which saw Derrick Rose return after an unexcused one-game absence.

McConnell, a second-year man, connected from the left baseline, capping a rally that saw the Sixers erase a 10-point deficit in the final 2:29.

Joel Embiid scored 21 points to lead Philadelphia. Carmelo Anthony led New York with 28, and Rose added 25.

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