Davis drops 46 on Pels as Lakers win fourth straight; Celtics see Hawks off late on; Magic defeat the Heat by 20 points; Trail Blazers down Wizards in Washington
Saturday 4 January 2020 08:57, UK
James Harden recorded his first triple-double of the season and dropped 44 points as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 118-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
James Harden recorded his first triple-double of the season and dropped 44 points as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 118-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in Houston.
Harden posted 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and intermittently carried the Rockets when things went awry.
Clint Capela won the matchup of talented bigs, adding 30 points and 14 rebounds to outpace 76ers center Joel Embiid (20 points, 12 boards) and help send Philadelphia to its fourth consecutive defeat since a Christmas Day blistering of the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
Harden was spectacular throughout, converting 6 of 12 three-pointers while finishing 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.
When the 76ers mounted one last desperate push with just under three minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to 108-102 on a Ben Simmons layup, Harden responded with back-to-back threes to snuff that rally. It marked the first triple-double on the season for Harden.
Simmons tallied a triple-double for the 76ers with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and added four blocked shots and three steals. Tobias Harris added 24 points but Philadelphia shot just 6-of-27 from behind the arc and suffered multiple breakdowns attempting to defend Harden.
Anthony Davis scored 46 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-113 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Davis, who scored 41 points in the Lakers' win over the Pelicans in their initial meeting on November 27, hit 15 of 21 shots and made all 13 of his free throws as the Lakers won their fourth consecutive game.
Danny Green, who made 6 of 10 three-pointers for the game, had 20 of his 25 points in the first half, and LeBron James finished with 17 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles.
Lonzo Ball had 23 points and Brandon Ingram had 22 for the Pelicans, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. E'Twaun Moore added 16 points, Derrick Favors had 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, and JJ Redick contributed 14 points for New Orleans.
It was the first visit to Staples Center in a Pelicans' uniform for Ingram, Ball and Josh Hart since they were traded to New Orleans for Davis.
And it was The Brow and his team who emerged victorious as they continue to set the pace in the Western Conference with a record of 28-7.
Daniel Theis blocked a potential go-ahead basket by Trae Young with 2.7 seconds remaining as the Boston Celtics held off the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 109-106, on Friday.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead all five starters scoring in double-figures for the Celtics, who rallied from an early 18-point deficit to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Enes Kanter chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Boston, which played without Kemba Walker (flu).
Young had 28 points and 10 assists in his return from a two-game absence with a sprained ankle, Kevin Huerter scored 17 and John Collins was at 16 before exiting in the third with a back contusion for the Hawks, who have dropped 11 of 12.
Atlanta got within two, 103-101, on a Huerter dunk with 3:37 to go and made it 105-104 when Alex Len hit 1 of 2 at the line with 52.8 seconds left. Marcus Smart responded with a three-pointer to give the Celtics a 108-104 lead with 42.3 seconds remaining.
After Len hit a tip-in to make it a two-point game, Young had a chance to put Atlanta up in the final seconds before Theis swatted it away. Young was assessed a technical foul in the aftermath, and Smart made the free throw to seal the outcome.
Reserve guard Terrence Ross scored a game-high 25 points - including 6 of 10 from deep - to lead the host Orlando Magic to a 105-85 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
Nikola Vucevic added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Orlando, which improved to 9-4 against its in-state rivals since the start of the 2016-2017 season.
The Magic also got 16 points and eight rebounds from forward Aaron Gordon and 15 points from guard Evan Fournier. Gordon missed Orlando's two previous games due to a foot injury.
Miami was led by shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who had 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He made 7 of 12 shots from the floor and 9 of 11 free throws. Heat center Bam Adebayo added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Orlando have bounced back from a disappointing home defeat to the league-worst Hawks in fine style with wins against the Washington Wizards and now the Heat, who own the best home record in the NBA at 16-1, fell to 9-9 on the road.
Damian Lillard scored 35 points, CJ McCollum added 24, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing skid Friday with a 122-103 win over the host Washington Wizards.
Portland, on a five-game road swing through the Eastern Conference, improved to 1-1 on the trip after losing Wednesday to New York. The backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum struggled in the loss to the Knicks, combining for just 28 points.
On Friday, however, the Trail Blazers guards flourished against a badly depleted Washington backcourt. The Wizards came into Friday's game without All-Stars John Wall and Bradley Beal - Wall continues to recover from an Achilles' injury sustained last season, while Beal sat for the third time in his last four with leg soreness.
Their situation at guard became even more dire mere moments into the game when Isaiah Thomas was ejected for making contact with an official. Washington also came into Friday's game without center Thomas Bryant and forward Rui Hachimura. The bevy of absences provided opportunities for Wizards bench players, including Jordan McRae.
McRae matched Lillard's game high with 35 points, Garrison Mathews added 18 points and Ish Smith finished with 16 points. Troy Brown Jr led the Washington starters with 10 points.
Lillard and McCollum led four Trail Blazers starters scoring in double-figures, joined by Carmelo Anthony with 16 and Hassan Whiteside with 23. Whiteside also grabbed 21 rebounds and Mario Hezonja made it five Trail Blazers in double digits with 10 points from the bench.
Devin Booker scored a game-high 38 points - his franchise record-tying fifth straight 30-point game - as the host Phoenix Suns mounted a fourth-quarter comeback and pulled away from the New York Knicks, 120-112.
The Suns, who have won three of four, outscored the Knicks 37-25 in the fourth quarter. New York had its season-high three-game winning streak snapped.
The fifth straight 30-point game by Booker tied a record previously set by Charlie Scott from March 13-21, 1973 and equaled by Charles Barkley from March 21-28, 1993.
Kelly Oubre Jr scored 29 points for the Suns and Aron Baynes posted a double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds). Baynes drained the jumper with 5:22 left that produced the game's 26th lead change and put Phoenix ahead for good.
Deandre Ayton (15 points, 13 rebounds) also had a double-double for the Suns while Ricky Rubio (9 points, 10 assists) missed a double-double by a point.
Marcus Morris Sr led the Knicks with 25 points while Bobby Portis added 20 off the bench. Julius Randle (13 points, 13 rebounds) registered a double-double while Elfrid Payton scored 15 points and RJ Barrett finished with 10 points.
