NBA Roundup: Harden hot as Houston cooks up home win

[November 12, 2018]  James Harden scored a game-high 40 points and Houston won on its home floor for the first time this season.

The Rockets, last in the league in field goal percentage, shot 36 for 74 (48.6 percent) and converted a season-high 20 3-pointers.

Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 22 points and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 20. Bogdanovic assisted on a Cory Joseph basket with 1:18 remaining that enabled the Pacers to claw to within eight points, but Chris Paul responded with a driving layup with only 62 seconds left to play.

The Pacers had their five-game road winning streak snapped and lost to Houston for the second time in six days.

Magic 115, Knicks 89

Orlando scored the first 10 points and never trailed on the way to a 115-89 rout of the host Knicks.

Orlando has won two straight and four of five while the Knicks lost by at least 20 points for the third time this season.

Terrence Ross scored a game-high 22 points for the Magic while Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes. New York native Mo Bamba had 15 points and eight rebounds in his homecoming while Evan Fournier added 12 points.

Kevin Knox led the Knicks with 17 points while Enes Kanter recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Hornets 113, Pistons 103

Kemba Walker and Tony Parker each scored 24 points, leading Charlotte Hornets to a 113-103 win in Detroit.

Cody Zeller contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Jeremy Lamb chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Hornets.

Rockets guard James Harden (13) passes against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left the game in the second quarter with an ankle sprain.

Andre Drummond recorded his fifth 20-20 game of the season with 23 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit. Reggie Bullock supplied a career-high 23 points and Reggie Jackson tossed in 19 points with seven assists.

Pistons forward Blake Griffin was ejected for a flagrant foul with 7:06 remaining. The officials ruled that Griffin made excessive contact against Malik Monk as the Hornets guard drove to the basket.

Bucks 121, Nuggets 114

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 28 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Milwaukee handed Denver its third consecutive loss.

Khris Middleton had 21 points Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 for the Bucks.

Lopez hit a career-high eight 3-pointers, six in the third quarter when Milwaukee built a double-digit lead.

Paul Millsap scored 25 points to lead the Nuggets, who received 20 points from center Nikola Jokic. Millsap added eight boards and six assists.

(Field Level Media)

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