James Harden scores 44 points, Rockets beat Pacers

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This article was published 15/11/2019 (2463 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HOUSTON – James Harden scored 44 points and the Houston Rockets used a big fourth quarter run to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-102 on Friday night.

Houston has won a season-high six games in a row and Harden has scored 36 points or more in five straight games to carry the Rockets as they deal with injuries to Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and Danuel House.

Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, and Doug and McDermott also scored 18 points. Indiana had won four in a row.

LAKERS 99, KINGS 97

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James hit two free throws with 5.5 seconds to play, and Anthony Davis blocked Harrison Barnes’ driving shot at the buzzer with both hands in Los Angeles’ 10th win in 11 games, over former coach Luke Walton and Sacramento.

James had 29 points and 11 assists, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter of the Western Conference-leading Lakers’ third straight win.

Davis scored 17 points and Alex Caruso scored a season-high 10 points for the Lakers.

Buddy Hield had 21 points and eight rebounds, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18 points for the Kings in the L.A. return of Walton, who was fired by the Lakers last April after presiding over three consecutive losing seasons.

CELTICS 105, WARRIORS 100

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jayson Tatum dunked after a jump ball with 1:36 left to put Boston ahead, and the Celtics held off the undermanned Golden State for their 10th straight win since losing the season opener.

D’Angelo Russell had 12 points and seven assists but also nine of his team’s 19 turnovers before leaving with a sprained right thumb in the Warriors’ sixth straight defeat. Alec Burks scored 20 points off the bench, making 11 of 12 free throws.

Jaylen Brown had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Tatum overcame a slow start to score 24 points for the Celtics, who lost Oct. 23 at Philadelphia to start the season before beginning its longest winning streak since 2017.

HORNETS 109, PISTONS 106

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Malik Monk hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Charlotte past Detroit.

After Detroit’s Derrick Rose drove the lane and awkwardly threw the ball away with a second left, Charlotte got it at midcourt. Following a timeout, the Hornets threw several screens, with Monk flying around one near the top of the key. He caught a pass from Cody Martin and launched the winner.

Monk finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting to help the Hornets snap a four-game losing streak. Terry Rozier added 19 points, and Devonte Graham had 18 points and 10 assists.

Langston Galloway had a career-high 32 points on seven 3-pointers for Detroit. Andre Drummond added 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Blake Griffin had 19 points after missing three games with left hamstring and posterior knee soreness.

The Pistons have lost four straight.

THUNDER 127, 76RES 119, OT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points to help Oklahoma City outlast Philadelphia in overtime.

Chris Paul had 27 points for the Thunder, who had dropped three of four. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, and Terrance Ferguson finished with 19.

It was the biggest win of the season for a Thunder franchise that lost All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George in off-season trades. The crowd roared in the fourth quarter and overtime and made it seem, for a night, like nothing had changed.

Joel Embiid had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Richardson added 28 points for the 76ers.

WIZARDS 137, TIMBERWOLVES 116

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 44 points for the second straight game and Washington snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory over short-handed Minnesota.

Moritz Wagner came off the bench for Washington to add 30 points and 15 rebounds — both career highs. Wagner also drew three charges to help spark the Wizards’ defence in the first half.

Karl-Anthony Towns, celebrating his 24th birthday, led the Timberwolves with 36 points. Minnesota was without scoring leader Andrew Wiggins because of personal reasons.

GRIZZLIES 107, JAZZ 106

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 25 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:32 remaining, Dillon Brooks added 20 points and Memphis beat Utah, spoiling the return of former Grizzlies guard Mike Conley.

Morant’s inside basket gave Memphis a 107-105 lead. Utah’s Rudy Gobert split a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left and both teams missed shots down the stretch.

Utah had one last chance when the ball was inbounded to Donovan Mitchell with two seconds left. But as Mitchell turned, Solomon Hill stripped the ball away, giving Memphis its third straight win.

The game marked the return of Conley, the long-time Memphis guard who spent his entire career with the Grizzlies until a trade to Utah over the summer. While there was plenty of admiration from his former fan base, Conley struggled, scoring 15 points on 5-for-19 shooting from the field.

Mitchell led the Jazz with 29 points and nine rebounds. Gobert had 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points.

MAGIC 111, SPURS 109

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Evan Fournier scored 26 points, hitting two late 3-pointers, and Orlando handed San Antonio its fourth straight loss.

Terrence Ross had 10 of his season-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points for the Spurs.

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