James Harden drops 49 as Houston Rockets record seventh straight NBA win
Giannis leads Bucks past Pacers; Leonard-less Clips rout Hawks; Dinwiddie leads Nets to win over Bulls; Graham hits game-winner for Hornets at Knicks
Sunday 17 November 2019 14:18, UK
James Harden posted 49 in a 125-105 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday which saw the Houston Rockets stretch their current winning streak to seven games.
Houston Rockets 125-105 Minnesota Timberwolves
James Harden recorded his fifth 40-plus point scoring effort during the Houston Rockets' seven-game winning streak, posting 49 in a 125-105 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Hamstrung by a roster depleted by injuries, Harden took a career-high 41 shot attempts. He finished 8 of 22 on three-pointers and added five rebounds and six assists over 39 minutes.
A trio of guards provided Harden support offensively. Ben McLemore followed his 21-point performance on Friday against Indiana with 20 points, including a pair of free throws with 1:29 left in the third quarter that gave the Rockets their first double-digit lead at 89-79.
Austin Rivers and Chris Clemons scored 19 points apiece for the Rockets, who also received a career-best 16 rebounds from center Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Timberwolves led by as many as 11 points in the first half but struggled to contain Harden. They also missed the production of their second-leading scorer, forward Andrew Wiggins, who missed his second consecutive game (personal reasons).
Karl-Anthony Towns paired 27 points with 15 rebounds to pace the Timberwolves, while Jake Layman scored 21 on 9-of-14 shooting. Robert Covington chipped in 17 points, while rookie Jarrett Culver added 13 points, all in the first half.
With the Rockets missing their second- (Russell Westbrook), third- (Clint Capela), fourth- (Danuel House Jr) and fifth-leading scorers (Eric Gordon), Harden asserted himself offensively from the opening tip, hoisting 17 first-quarter shots to keep Houston afloat.
Clemons, an undrafted rookie out of Campbell, matched his career-high of 16 points by the intermission. With Harden producing 30 points by the break, that duo was able to offset Towns' 18 points and the combined 24 points from Culver and Layman.
Houston moves to 10-3 with the win, while the Timberwolves are now 7-6.
Milwaukee Bucks 102-83 Indiana Pacers
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks ran off from the host Indiana Pacers for a comfortable 102-83 victory in a duel between the Central Division's top two teams.
The game was supposed to be a reunion between Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and his former Bucks team-mates, but Brogdon was a scratch with a sore back that also cut short his playing time Friday night at Houston. Brogdon left Milwaukee in an offseason sign-and-trade.
The Pacers, who had won four in a row before losing on Friday at Houston, never got closer than seven in the second half.
Antetokounmpo's game-high point total came on 10-for-17 shooting and 3-for-6 accuracy from three-point range. He had entered the game shooting just 29.5 percent on threes. The reigning Most Valuable Player also found time for a game-high six assists.
Brook Lopez finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Bucks, who won their third straight and seventh in their last eight games.
Donte DiVincenzo, promoted to the starting lineup earlier in the week when Khris Middleton got injured, added 14 points, while Eric Bledsoe and Sterling Brown chipped in with 10 points apiece.
Myles Turner (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Domantas Sabonis (11 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Pacers, who lost additional ground to the first-place Bucks with the defeat.
Atlanta Hawks 101-150 Los Angeles Clippers
Paul George scored 37 points in only 20 minutes, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 150-101 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks despite playing without Kawhi Leonard.
George, who scored 25 points in the first half, converted 10 of 17 shots from the floor overall, including 6 of 11 three-pointers. He made all 11 of his free throws. George, who scored 33 points in his season debut Thursday in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, is 21 of 21 from the line in two games.
Lou Williams, who made 15 of 15 free throws, had 25 points off the bench for the Clippers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jerome Robinson contributed 21 points, and Montrezl Harrell had 17, helping the Clippers' bench outscore the Hawks' reserves 81-35.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 20 points to go along with six assists. Young, though, hit just 4 of 16 shots from the floor. De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish each had 12 points, and Jabari Parker, Damian Jones and Evan Turner chipped in 11 apiece for Atlanta, for whom Vince Carter didn't play due to personal reasons.
The Clippers never trailed. After leading by 12 at the half, they blew the game open in the third quarter by outscoring the Hawks 38-20 for a 112-82 lead entering the fourth. The lead maxed out at 52.
The Clippers led by as much as 17 in the first quarter before the Hawks rallied in the second. They cut the gap to 51-47 midway through the second quarter after a bucket by Parker.
However, the Clippers answered with a 15-2 surge after a three-point play by rookie guard Terance Mann, who got his first NBA start, at 3:57 for a 66-49 advantage. Mann finished with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Toronto Raptors 102-110 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the visiting Toronto Raptors 110-102.
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had lost their two previous games. Seth Curry and former Raptor Delon Wright each had 15 points for Dallas while Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith both finished with 10.
Normal Powell led Toronto with a season-best 26 points and Fred Van Vleet added 24. Pascal Siakam had 15 points and seven assists.
The Mavericks took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter and opened the final frame on a 10-2 surge to lead by nine after Wright's layup with 9:44 remaining.
The lead reached 14 later in the quarter on three free throws by Doncic and a technical foul shot by Porzingis, although the Raptors gained some ground, Dallas were able to see out the victory and move to 7-4 on the season.
Brooklyn Nets 117-111 Chicago Bulls
Spencer Dinwiddie had a team-high 24 points, Joe Harris added 22 points and eight assists, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied for a 117-111 win over the host Chicago Bulls at United Center.
Taurean Prince added 13 points and Garrett Temple had 12 for Brooklyn, who ended a three-game losing skid. Jarrett Allen tallied 11 points and Theo Pinson contributed 10 as six Nets players scored in double digits.
Zach LaVine scored 36 points on 11-for-24 shooting for Chicago, who lost for the second time in three nights. The Bulls received double-double performances from both Wendell Carter Jr. (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Lauri Markkanen (16 points, 10 rebounds).
Brooklyn opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to grab an 80-78 advantage. That set up a back-and-forth stretch that included four lead changes in less than 90 seconds.
A three-pointer by Prince boosted the Nets' lead to 99-92 with 3:43 to play, but Chicago quickly sliced the deficit to three points thanks to back-to-back baskets by Carter and LaVine. The Nets then pulled away with six straight points to go back on top 105-96 with 1:35 remaining.
Brooklyn played without two of its top three scorers, Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and Caris LeVert (thumb) and they were able to see it through down the stretch to move to 5-7.
New Orleans Pelicans 94-109 Miami Heat
Rookie Kendrick Nunn scored 22 points as the Miami Heat stayed undefeated at home by beating the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 109-94.
New Orleans, beginning a set of back-to back games that ends with a home game against Golden State on Sunday, played without five of their top seven scorers, including leading scorer Brandon Ingram and third-leading scorer JJ Redick, because of injury.
Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 14 rebounds, Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 13 assists, Duncan Robinson scored 15 points, Kelly Olynyk had 13 points and Tyler Herro 12.
Rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Pelicans, who have just three wins this season but defeated the Clippers in their last game Thursday night, with 27 points. E'Twaun Moore added 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 14 points, rookie Jaxson Hayes 12 and Nicolo Melli 10.
The Pelicans stayed in the game until midway through the fourth quarter primarily by making threes, finishing with 16. But the Heat enjoyed a 46-31 rebounding advantage and that proved decisive as they won for the fifth time in as many home games.
Portland Trail Blazers 121-116 San Antonio Spurs
CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Hassan Whiteside added 21 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers rallied for a 121-116 win over the San Antonio Spurs in a wild, back-and-forth game in the Alamo City.
San Antonio trailed by as many as 20 in the first quarter and 23 in the second, but rallied to take the lead in the third and lead by as many as 15 three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Portland came back to tie game at 111 after a putback layup by McCollum with 2:26 to play and the Trail Blazers were the better team down the stretch, outscoring San Antonio 10-5 in the final two minutes to snap a two-game losing streak.
Damian Lillard added 22 points for the Trail Blazers (5-8) and Rodney Hood hit for 16 points in the win.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs (5-8) with 30 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
Bryn Forbes scored 17 points, while Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan added 16 each for San Antonio, who have now lost five straight games.
Charlotte Hornets 103-102 New York Knicks
Devonte' Graham hit a career-high nine threes, scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead trey with 2.8 seconds left as the Charlotte Hornets edged the New York Knicks 103-102 at Madison Square Garden.
A night after Malik Monk's buzzer-beater beat the Detroit Pistons to halt Charlotte's four-game losing streak, it was Graham's turn to complete a comeback as the Hornets won their second straight game on a last-second shot.
New York held a 102-98 lead on Julius Randle's dunk with 48.2 seconds left. After two free throws by rookie PJ Washington, Randle air-balled a floater with 12.3 seconds to go, setting the stage for Graham.
After the timeout, Nicolas Batum inbounded the ball from near midcourt to Washington. Washington made a bounce pass to Graham, who gained enough separation from Frank Ntilikina to hit the three-pointer from well beyond the top of the key.
New York called its final timeout with 2.1 seconds remaining but Randle's jumper was short as time expired.
Washington added 19 points while Terry Rozier contributed 16 as Charlotte rallied from a double-digit deficit for the sixth time this season.
For the Knicks, rookie RJ Barrett scored 22 points, including several clutch hoops in the fourth, but New York were denied their first winning streak of the season.
Live NBA: Boston @ Sacramento
Mitchell Robinson added 17 and 12 rebounds coming off the bench but injured his left ankle and did not play for the final five-plus minutes. Marcus Morris and Bobby Portis added 14 apiece for the Knicks.
