LDN - Sports

NBA roundup: Rockets grab first place in West

[February 15, 2018] James Harden worked through a subpar shooting performance to help the Houston Rockets carry a 10-game winning streak into the All-Star break following a 100-91 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Harden totaled a game-high 28 points on 7-of-19 shooting and added nine rebounds and nine assists as Houston sealed its second double-digit winning streak this season. The Rockets won 14 consecutive games bridging the months of November and December.

Chris Paul scored 17 of his 19 points in the second quarter and added seven assists and two steals for Houston. Clint Capela posted his 30th double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), and P.J. Tucker delivered a strong all-around effort with 10 points, seven boards and two steals.

Bogdan Bogdanovich led Sacramento with 20 points.

Trail Blazers 123, Warriors 117

Damian Lillard scored 44 points as Portland won a shootout with visiting Golden State.

Despite getting 50 points from Kevin Durant, the defending champion Warriors fell out of first place in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break. The Rockets (44-13) are a half-game ahead of Golden State (44-14).

CJ McCollum added 29 points, and Jusuf Nurkic contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who won for the 10th time in 11 home contests. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry each scored 17 points for Golden State, which saw the end of a three-game win streak.

Jazz 107, Suns 97

Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and Royce O'Neale added a career-high 19 to lift Utah past Phoenix in Salt Lake City for to the Jazz's NBA-leading 11th straight win.

Derrick Favors had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 17 rebounds for Utah. Gobert earned his 16th double-double of the season, while Favors notched his 14th double-double. Mitchell and Joe Ingles (13 points) each dished out six assists for the Jazz.

Devin Booker had 28 points and Josh Jackson added 22 points for the Suns. Phoenix's Elfrid Payton chipped in his ninth career triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. The Suns lost their seventh consecutive game.

Raptors 122, Bulls 98

C.J. Miles' four-point play ignited a game-swinging, second-quarter run as visiting Toronto rallied from an early deficit to blitz Chicago and head into the All-Star break atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry scored 20 points apiece to lead the Raptors, who completed a 4-0 season-series sweep of the Bulls with a seventh straight win.

Bobby Portis came off the bench to total 18 points for the Bulls, who have alternated losses and wins in their last five games, dropping three of five.

Clippers 129, Celtics 119

Los Angeles and Boston put on All Star-caliber performances in their final game before the break as the Clippers beat the Celtics behind DeAndre Jordan's career-high 30 points with 13 rebounds and four steals.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Danilo Gallinari added 20 to lead Los Angeles to the victory.

Kyrie Irving had a game-high 33 points and eight assists to pace the Celtics. Al Horford had 20 points in the losing effort.

76ers 104, Heat 102

Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons posted 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Philadelphia rallied from a 24-point deficit to defeat Miami and give the 76ers a ninth consecutive home win, their longest streak since 2008.

It was Simmons' sixth triple-double of the season, the most by a rookie since 1991-92.

An off-balance shot by JJ Redick with 20 seconds left gave the 76ers a 102-99 lead. Miami had a chance to tie, but Wayne Ellington missed a pressured 3-point attempt with 16 seconds left.

Pelicans 139, Lakers 117

All-Star forward Anthony Davis had 42 points and 15 rebounds as New Orleans defeated Los Angeles in New Orleans.

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Davis, who left the game briefly in the first quarter because of a minor groin injury, led New Orleans to its third consecutive victory heading into the All-Star break. The Pelicans had their highest point total of the season, which also was the most allowed by the Lakers in a regulation game this season.

Jrue Holiday added 24 points and 11 assists for the Pelicans, while Kyle Kuzma scored 23 for the Lakers. New Orleans' Rajon Rondo and Los Angeles' Isaiah Thomas were ejected late in the first quarter after a brief altercation.

Wizards 118, Knicks 113

Bradley Beal had 36 points and Otto Porter Jr. added 22 points to lead visiting Washington to a come-from-behind win over New York.

The Wizards rallied from a 27-point deficit late in the first half to take the lead late in the third quarter. Washington fended off the Knicks in the fourth quarter to win for the seventh time in nine games since John Wall went down with a knee injury.

It was the largest deficit overcome for a victory in the NBA this season.

Thunder 121, Grizzlies 114

Paul George made six 3-pointers while scoring 28 points to lead Oklahoma City over host Memphis.

Russell Westbrook contributed 23 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his 17th triple-double of the campaign. Carmelo Anthony added 19 points as the Thunder won for just the third time in the past nine games.

Andrew Harrison scored a career-best 28 points and went 5 of 5 from 3-point range for the Grizzlies, who have lost seven straight and nine of their past 10 games. Memphis' Tyreke Evans had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Pacers 108, Nets 103

Victor Oladipo scored 25 points as visiting Indiana defeated Brooklyn.

Oladipo shot 9 of 24 from the floor but made enough plays to help Indiana win for the 14th time in the last 20 games. He pushed the Pacers ahead 101-97 by converting a layup with 50.5 seconds remaining, and the Nets never came closer.

Cory Joseph added 15 points and 11 rebounds while former Net Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 14 points as Indiana beat Brooklyn for the seventh straight time in a game that featured 29 lead changes and 17 ties.

Hornets 104, Magic 102

Dwight Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as visiting Charlotte beat back Orlando's fourth-quarter comeback.

The Hornets led by double digits in the third quarter, then gave it all back and more early in the fourth. Charlotte jumped back into the lead in the final three minutes as a layup by Howard and a jumper and free throw by Jeremy Lamb staked the Hornets to a 96-94 lead with 2:16 to play.

Orlando responded with a free throw and a layup by Bismack Biyombo only to see Kemba Walker's 25 foot 3-pointer and Nicolas Batum's even deeper 3 on back-to-back possessions give the Magic the lead for good.

Pistons 104, Hawks 98

All five Detroit starters scored in double figures as the host Pistons held off short-handed Atlanta.

Ish Smith had 22 points and Andre Drummond finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who led by as many as 30 in the second half but had to withstand a furious Hawks' comeback in the fourth quarter.

Isaiah Taylor converted a three-point play that cut Detroit's lead to 100-96 with 13 seconds to play. However, Smith and Stanley Johnson each hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the win for the Pistons, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

--Field Level Media

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