Harden leads Rockets to win over 76ers

James Harden had 51 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 on Friday.

It was the 14th triple-double of the season for Harden and the 18th time he has accumulated over 30 points and 10 assists.

The latter is the highest single-season total since such numbers were first tracked in 1983-84, according to basketball-reference.com.

His points total was two off his season and career high of 53, against the New York Knicks on December 31.

Nene added a season-high 21 points for the Rockets, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Philadelphia rookie centre Joel Embiid, back after missing the three previous games with a bruised left knee, topped the Sixers with 32 points, one shy of his career high.

Pacers 115,
Kings 111 (OT)

Paul George scored six of his 33 points in overtime as Indiana rallied to defeat Sacramento in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

George’s basket with 31.8 seconds remaining broke a 111-111 tie and after Garrett Temple and Darren Collison each missed potential game-tying shots, Jeff Teague made two game-clinching free throws with 0.4 seconds to play.

Indiana improved to 3-18 when trailing after three quarters and 2-7 in the second game of a back to back.

Pelicans 119, Spurs 103

Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 23 points and had 11 assists, and Anthony Davis scored 16 points and grabbed 22 rebounds to power New Orleans to a victory over San Antonio in the Smoothie King Centre.

The victory for the Pelicans snapped the Spurs’ five-game winning streak, and it also ended San Antonio’s streak of five consecutive victories over the Pelicans. The 119 points were the most allowed by the Spurs this season.

Knicks 110, Hornets 107

Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points apiece to lead New York to a win over Charlotte at Madison Square Garden.

Courtney Lee added 16 points for the Knicks, including crucial points in the fourth quarter. Brandon Jennings scored 15 points off the New York bench.

Kemba Walker, who was named as a reserve to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, poured in 31 points for the Hornets (23-24).

Raptors 102, Bucks 86

Kyle Lowry scored 32 points and added six assists as Toronto ended a season-high five-game losing streak with a victory over Milwaukee.

Norman Powell added 19 points for the Raptors, who were without DeMar DeRozan (sprained right ankle). Patrick Patterson added 10 points while Jonas Valanciunas scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Cavaliers 124, Nets 116

LeBron James scored 31 points and passed for 11 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Cleveland beat lowly Brooklyn, just its third win in its last nine games.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Nets and the 15th in their last 16 games.

Celtics 128, Magic 98

Isaiah Thomas scored 21 to notch his 30th consecutive 20-point contest as Boston blew out Orlando at TD Garden.

Thomas is 10 games shy of the Celtics’ franchise mark, set by John Havlicek. Jae Crowder added 19 points and rookie Jaylen Brown scored a career-high 20 and grabbed eight rebounds.

Heat 100, Bulls 88

Goran Dragic scored 26 points and had 11 assists as Miami cruised to a win over Chicago.

Heat centre Willie Reed scored 20 points in place of injured teammate Hassan Whiteside. Guard Dion Waiters added 19 points as Miami won its sixth game in a row.

Wizards 112, Hawks 86

Otto Porter Jr bounced back from a poor offensive night to score 21 points and grab 11 rebounds and sparked Washington to a win over Atlanta and pulled to within one-half game of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

It was the largest margin of victory of the season for the Wizards, eclipsing their 25-point win at Boston on November 9.

Trail Blazers 112, Grizzlies 109

Damian Lillard scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a 112-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Centre.

Lillard led five Trail Blazers who scored in double figures, including Allen Crabbe, who came off the bench for 23 points.

CJ McCollum had 18 points, Mason Plumlee 13 and Al Farouq Aminu 12 for Portland (21-27), which won their third straight game.