NBA: Rockets beat Raptors; Cavs down Suns
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) scores as Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) defends and guard Kyle Lowry (7) and forward Patrick Patterson (54) look on during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto. AP
TORONTO — James Harden had 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 10th triple-double of the season to help the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 129-122 on Sunday (Monday Manila time) for their eighth straight NBA victory.
Montrezl Harrell added 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes, and fellow reserve Eric Gordon had 19 points to help Houston win consecutive road games over the Raptors for the first time.
DeMar DeRozan had 36 points for the Raptors, setting a career high with his 18th 30-plus-point game of the season. DeMarre Carroll tied a career high with 26 points and set a career high with six 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
Down 99-95 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead. DeRozan’s run of 12 consecutive points for the Raptors cut into that advantage, but Toronto could get no closer than five points.
In Phoenix, LeBron James scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as Cleveland fought off the Suns, 120-116, down the stretch.
Kyrie Irving added 27 points and Kevin Love 25 for the Cavaliers. They led by as many as 22 in the first half and 20 early in the third quarter. Phoenix tied it late in the third and got within one in the fourth but never took the lead.
Eric Bledsoe scored 31 points and Devin Booker had 28 for the Suns.
James sank consecutive 3-pointers, his only 3s of the game, to give Cleveland a 115-109 lead with 2:46 to play and scored on a driving layup with 44 seconds left to make it 120-114.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds left as Detroit outlasted Portland, 125-124 in double overtime, in a game postponed a day because of a winter storm.
Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 31 points, Andre Drummond had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Caldwell-Pope finished with 26.
The Pistons have won two straight for the first time since Dec. 2.
CJ McCollum had 35 points for Portland in the game with 14 lead changes and 11 ties. He has scored 20 points or more in seven straight games and is averaging 33.8 points in the last five.
Allen Crabbe added a career-high 30 points and Damian Lillard had 20.
Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers and scored 30 points as Golden State took its first lead midway through the third quarter on the way to the 117-106 victory over Sacramento.
Kevin Durant had 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Klay Thompson added 18 points.
With their 17th straight victory after a loss, the Warriors reached 124 straight regular-season games without suffering back-to-back defeats.
Sacramento’s Rudy Gay scored 15 of his 23 points in the first quarter.
In Los Angeles, Julius Randle scored 19 points and rookie Brandon Ingram matched his career high with 17 in Los Angeles’ 111-95 victory over Orlando.
It was the first time in their last 30 games the Lakers put together consecutive victories.
D’Angelo Russell also scored 17 points for the Lakers and center Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and nine rebounds. Serge Ibaka, Evan Founier and Nikola Vucevic each scored 19 points for Orlando.
Mike Conley had 19 points and nine assists and Marc Gasol scored 17 points in Memphis’ 88-79 victory over Utah.
Zach Randolph added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 22 points, and George Hill added 15 points.
J.J. Redick scored 25 points as Los Angeles beat Miami for its fourth straight victory.
Chris Paul had 19 points, 18 assists and one turnover, and DeAndre Jordan added 18 rebounds to help keep the Clippers unbeaten in the new year after they closed 2016 on a six-game skid.
Goran Dragic scored 24 points, and Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Miami. The Heat shot 37 percent and had three technical fouls.
The Clippers broke it open with a 43-21 run that spanned the second and third quarters. Redick scored 14 points and Paul added 12 as they stretched the lead from one point to 23 points. Redick hit three 3-pointers and Paul added another.
Joel Embiid scored 20 points and Philadelphia reached 10 victories to match its total from all last season, beating Brooklyn, 105-95.
The 76ers broke it open with a 17-2 surge in the fourth quarter to win the matchup between the NBA’s two worst teams and improve to 10-25 in their first season with former lottery picks Embiid and Dario Saric. They were 10-72 in 2015-16, just off their own record for worst finish in the 82-game schedule.
Embiid did his damage without even reaching the 28-minute restriction he was limited to as he recovers from a series of foot injuries that delayed his NBA debut for two years.
Brook Lopez scored 26 points for the Nets, who have lost six in a row to fall to 8-28.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points and Markieff Morris added 20 points and 10 rebounds to help Washington beat Milwaukee, 107-101.
Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 28 points. Malcolm Brogdon added a career-high 22 points, and Michael Beasley scored 18 points in 16 minutes. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ill and didn’t play.
