James Harden recorded his 19th 40-point game of the season as the Houston Rockets snapped a two-game losing streak by routing the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
Houston Rockets 125-98 Utah Jazz
James Harden recorded his 19th 40-point game of the season as the Houston Rockets snapped a two-game losing streak with a 125-98 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Harden stuffed the stat sheet with 43 points, 12 rebounds, six steals, five assists and four blocks. He finished 15 of 15 at the free-throw line and essentially carried the Rockets to their second win in four meetings with Utah this season, while extending his streak of consecutive 30-point games to 26.
Both teams, who met in last season's Western Conference playoff semifinals, have recovered from slow starts to their respective campaigns to establish themselves as the post-season contenders.
Kenneth Faried added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Gerald Green (25 points) and Austin Rivers (16) combined for 41 points on 10-of-18 3-point shooting off the bench.
The Rockets played without guard Chris Paul, who rested in the second game of a back to back.
Donovan Mitchell tallied 26 points on 7-of-24 shooting for Utah, who came into the game having won 10 of their last 12.
Four others scored in double figures, but the Jazz mustered only 36 percent shooting against the Rockets' scuffling defence. Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 13 boards. Derrick Favors blocked five shots.
Milwaukee Bucks 131-115 Washington Wizards
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Washington Wizards to pick up their third straight win.
Brook Lopez added 21 points and Khris Middleton scored 20 for the Bucks, who avenged a January loss at Washington, a game they played without Antetokounmpo.
Bradley Beal led the six Wizards in double figures with 24 points, Jeff Green added 20 and Otto Porter Jr. scored 18.
Milwaukee shot 50 percent from the field - including 43.6 percent (17 of 39) from three-point range - and converted all 24 of its free-throw attempts.
The victory improved the Bucks' NBA-best record to 38-13 and was their ninth win in their last 10 games.
Denver Nuggets 107-106 Minnesota Timberwolves
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets held on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Malik Beasley scored 22 points, Will Barton finished with 20 points and Monte Morris had 17 points and 10 assists for Denver, who have won six straight.
The result allowed Nuggets coach Michael Malone to clinch the job as the coach of Team LeBron in the All-Star Game.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Jerryd Bayless had 15 points and 10 assists for Minnesota.
Los Angeles Lakers 101-115 Golden State Warriors
Andre Iguodala ignited a fourth-quarter runaway with consecutive three-pointers as the Golden State Warriors broke open a tight game to beat the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers
James was a late scratch after being unable to shake general body soreness that resulted from a 40-minute return to the Lakers' lineup on Thursday after having missed 17 consecutive games with a groin injury.
The soreness is not considered an aggravation of the groin injury, Lakers coach Luke Walton announced before the game, and James is expected to return for Tuesday's trip to Indiana.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 28 points while Kevin Durant (21 points, 11 assists) and DeMarcus Cousins (18 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.
Brandon Ingram had a team-high 20 points for the Lakers, who fell to 6-12 without James in the lineup.
Philadelphia 76ers 108-115 Sacramento Kings
Buddy Hield capped a 34-point performance with a pair of late three-pointers, enabling the Sacramento Kings to out-finish the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in a back-and-forth affair.
After Philadelphia's Jimmy Butler dropped in a layup to put the 76ers up 105-104 with 2:34 to play, Willie Cauley-Stein drew a foul from Joel Embiid and converted two free throws that gave the Kings the lead for good.
Over the last eight minutes, the lead changed hands eight times.
Butler and Embiid scored 29 points apiece and Ben Simmons had 22 for the 76ers, who had a two-game win streak snapped.
Cauley-Stein and De'Aaron Fox had 19 points apiece for the Kings, while rookie Marvin Bagley contributed a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Dallas Mavericks 111-98 Cleveland Cavaliers
Rookie Luca Doncic tied his NBA career-high with 35 points, including 18 in the first quarter, to lead the short-handed Dallas Mavericks to a road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Doncic also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists as he joined an exclusive club in becoming the sixth player since 2000 to score 1,000 points before turning 20. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Devin Booker and Dwight Howard also achieved the feat.
Dallas dressed only 11 players after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks in a seven-player trade on Thursday.
While it was Doncic who set up the victory, it was the play of his fellow rookie, Jalen Brunson, and Harrison Barnes who made the crucial plays down the stretch.
Brunson had 15 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists, while Barnes had 17 points and five rebounds.
Jordan Clarkson led the Cavaliers with 19 points off the bench. Dallas outscored Cleveland 48-12 from three-point range.
Indiana Pacers 95-88 Miami Heat
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Miami Heat.
Darren Collison had 20 points, and Myles Turner added 14 points as the Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak.
It was Indiana's first win since All-Star guard Victor Oladipo suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury.
Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat. Dwyane Wade had 21 points in 27 minutes.
New Orleans Pelicans 108-113 San Antonio Spurs
LaMarcus Aldridge led a balanced scoring attack with 25 points as the San Antonio Spurs withstood a remarkable comeback attempt by New Orleans.
Aldridge was joined in double figures by Marco Belinelli (17), Rudy Gay (17), DeMar DeRozan (13), Bryn Forbes (12) and Patty Mills (12) as the Spurs won their fifth in a row and completed a sweep of a four-game homestand.
Frank Jackson scored 25, Jrue Holiday and Ian Clark added 15 each, Cheick Diallo had 13, Kenrich Williams had 12 and Darius Miller 11 to lead the Pelicans, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
The Spurs led by 22 on three occasions in the fourth quarter before the Pelicans came storming back. New Orleans scored 14 straight points to pull within 106-98 on Diallo's basket with 2:27 left.
Mills answered with a three-pointer, but the Pelicans scored 10 points in a span of 1:22 to get within 111-108 with 38 seconds left.
After a DeRozan miss, New Orleans had a chance to tie, but Tim Frazier missed a three-pointer and DeRozan made two free throws.
Los Angeles Clippers 111-101 Detroit Pistons
Lou Williams came off the bench to score 39 points and dish out nine assists as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 25-point deficit to stun the Detroit Pistons.
Williams scored 26 points in the second half, when the Clippers outscored the Pistons 64-36.
Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 29 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists against his former team.
With the pistons leading 65-47 at the break, Clippers coach Doc Rivers inserted Williams and fellow reserve Boban Marjanovic to start the second half.
The center made his presence felt too, contributing 10 points and 10 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell, Mike Scott and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also each reached double figures scoring.
Chicago Bulls 118-125 Charlotte Hornets
Kemba Walker erupted for 37 points, 10 assists and six rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets dominated the fourth quarter in a win over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Walker scored nine straight Hornets points down the stretch and triggered a 15-0 run that turned a 100-99 deficit into a 114-100 lead. The Hornets were never threatened from there.
Chicago's Bobby Portis put on a show in the first half as he scored 28 of his 33 points to help the Bulls establish a nine-point half-time lead.
Lauri Markkanen did most of the Bulls' scoring down the stretch and finished with 30. The Bulls have now lost 15 of their last 17.
Malik Monk had 18 points and Nicolas Batum had 16 for the Hornets, while Marvin Williams, Jeremy Lamb and Miles Bridges contributed 13 each.
Brookyln Nets 89-102 Orlando Magic
A big third quarter helped the Orlando Magic top the Brooklyn Nets in a clash of Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls.
Six players scored in double figures for Orlando, led by Nikola Vucevic, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
The Magic, who charged into the lead with a 21-6 run midway through the third quarter, won back-to-back games for the first time in three weeks.
D'Angelo Russell led Brooklyn with 23 points and six assists, and Shabazz Napier added 15 off the bench. The Nets have lost three of their last four and snapped a streak of 11 consecutive games scoring at least 100 points.
The Nets remain well-placed in their playoff push as they sit sixth in the East with a 28-26 record, while the Magic (22-31) are three games back from the final playoff spot.
Atlanta Hawks 118-112 Phoenix Suns
John Collins scored 35 points, and Trae Young scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help the visiting Atlanta Hawks down the Phoenix Suns.
Collins was 13 of 20 from the floor and grabbed 16 rebounds - 10 on the offensive end. Young drained four three-pointers and added seven rebounds and eight assists.
Devin Booker scored 32 points to lead Phoenix, the third time he has scored 30-plus points in the last four games. Booker made four three-pointers and added 10 assists and eight rebounds.