James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 63 points as the host Houston Rockets hammered the Denver Nuggets 130-104 on Tuesday night.
Denver Nuggets 104-130 Houston Rockets
James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 63 points as the host Houston Rockets hammered the Denver Nuggets 130-104 on Tuesday.
Harden paired 35 points with six assists while Westbrook added 28 points and seven assists to carry Houston to their seventh consecutive home win over the Nuggets, who had won nine of their past 10 games overall.
Denver defeated the Rockets 105-95 on November 20 by trapping Harden repeatedly and forcing his team-mates to fill the void offensively. Houston countered that gambit on Tuesday night with exceptional ball movement in the first half, and after the Nuggets sliced a 17-point half-time deficit to 92-89 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets opened the final frame with a 19-3 surge to reclaim control.
Clint Capela chipped in a double-double for Houston (16 points, 10 rebounds) while Isaiah Hartenstein produced his first career double-double with 16 points and 12 boards off the bench. Ben McLemore drilled three three-pointers for the Rockets, two during their fourth-quarter rally.
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 21 points, including 13 to pace the Nuggets' 37-point third period. He added eight rebounds and four assists. Monte Morris, also instrumental during the Nuggets' third-quarter comeback, scored 18 points off the bench. Paul Millsap had 13 points and nine boards for Denver.
When Danuel House Jr sank a corner trey that beat the first-half buzzer, the Rockets led 69-52. Denver made inroads in the third by pounding the offensive glass, converting four boards into nine second-chance points.
Malik Beasley sank a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in the period to cut the deficit to three, but the Rockets regained their rhythm to open the fourth and cruised home from there.
Dallas Mavericks 101-106 Oklahoma City Thunder
Chris Paul scored 17 points - including 13 in the final 4:31 of the game - to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a come-from-behind 106-101 home win over the Dallas Mavericks.
With less than three minutes remaining, the Thunder trailed by seven. But then Oklahoma City reeled off a 14-2 run - fuelled in large part by Paul - to end the game. The win was the third in a row and seventh in the last eight games for the Thunder.
Dallas had a chance to regain the lead in the final minute, but Danilo Gallinari tipped the ball away from the Mavericks' Luca Doncic right into the arms of the Thunder's Steven Adams. Oklahoma City converted at the free-throw line to put the game away.
Two players who were questionable going into the day - Gallinari and Dennis Schroder - led the Thunder with 20 points each.
Doncic scored 35 points to lead all scorers but struggled from behind the arc, going just 3-of-16 on three-pointers. He also added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Three Oklahoma City players had double-doubles. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Nerlens Noel had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Adams had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The loss was the second in a row for the Mavericks, who were without Kristaps Porzingis for just the second time this season. He was a late scratch due to right knee soreness.
Philadelphia 76ers 97-115 Indiana Pacers
Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to carry the host Indiana Pacers past the Philadelphia 76ers 115-97 in Indianapolis.
TJ Warren added 21 points, Myles Turner contributed 14 and Jeremy Lamb had 13 for the Pacers, who improved to 15-3 at home and snapped a two-game losing streak.
Ben Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but also had three assists against six turnovers for the Sixers. Josh Richardson led Philadelphia with 20 points but the Sixers looked out of sync from start to finish without All-Star center Joel Embiid. Embiid was nursing a sore left knee and the Sixers fell to 3-4 without him this season.
Since soundly defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 121-109 on Christmas Day, the Sixers have dropped three straight road games in Orlando, Miami and now Indianapolis.
The Pacers received a big lift with the return of Malcolm Brogdon after he missed the three previous games. But Brogdon missed all five shots, aggravated his back and excited the game in the first quarter.
Still, the Pacers took advantage of Embiid's absence and bolted to a commanding 67-43 advantage at half-time. Indiana began the third quarter in equally strong fashion. When Lamb stole the ball and drained a three-pointer from the wing, the lead was 78-49 with 9:17 left.
Sabonis scored the Pacers' next six points and the lead swelled to 35. The Sixers continued to struggle mightily with their shooting and weren't able to cut much into the lead as they trailed 96-66 after the third.
LA Clippers 105-87 Sacramento Kings
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points as the LA Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings for the 10th straight time, 105-87.
Leonard missed his first four shots before finishing 8-of-21 from the floor with seven assists. Paul George also overcame a slow start to finish with 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Clippers, who have won 14 straight in Sacramento. George was 6-of-25 shooting from the floor overall.
Maurice Harkless scored 12 points and Ivica Zubac had 13 rebounds for LA, who played without starting point guard Patrick Beverley (wrist) and sixth-man Lou Williams (personal reasons).
Richaun Holmes had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Buddy Hield contributed 20 points for the Kings, who have lost eight in a row and haven't defeated the Clippers in Sacramento since March 19, 2013.
The Clippers led by as many as 18 late in the first half before taking a 57-40 lead into the break.
Sacramento cut into the deficit in the third quarter, but never got back within single digits before the Clippers took an 88-73 lead into the fourth.
The Kings again cut the deficit to 11 in the fourth quarter, but LA put the game away with a 7-0 run midway through the quarter.
Boston Celtics 109-92 Charlotte Hornets
Jayson Tatum scored 24 points and Kemba Walker added 22 points and seven assists as the visiting Boston Celtics handed the Charlotte Hornets their sixth consecutive loss, 109-92, at Spectrum Center.
Coming in off a lopsided loss to reigning NBA champion Toronto, Boston ratcheted up their defensive intensity early. The Celtics limited the Hornets to just 18 first-quarter points and 43 for the first half.
Boston book-ended the contest by holding the Hornets below 20 points again in the fourth quarter, ultimately pulling away with a 29-19 edge in the final 12 minutes.
Boston exercised an advantage on the interior to steadily build their lead. The Celtics scored 54 points in the paint to the Hornets' 42, and dominated on the boards, 54 rebounds to 41.
Three Celtics exceeded 20 points, with Gordon Hayward joining Tatum and Walker with 21. Hayward recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds and dished six assists. Enes Kanter came off the bench and registered a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and he contributed to the defensive effort with six blocked shots.
Charlotte's season-long leading scorers Devonte' Graham and former Celtics guard Terry Rozier had just 11 and 10 points, respectively. PJ Washington led the Hornets with 15 points, while Miles Bridges posted 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Cleveland Cavaliers 97-117 Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and added eight assists as the host Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-97 on Tuesday night.
Serge Ibaka added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, Terence Davis had a season-best 19 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points and OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet each scored 12.
Collin Sexton had 22 points for the Cavaliers, who completed a three-game road trip at 1-2. Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his team-best 17th double-double of the season.
The Raptors led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter and entered the fourth with a 17-point advantage.
Toronto are 4-3 since Pascal Siakam (groin), Marc Gasol (hamstring) and Norman Powell (shoulder) were injured in a December 18 victory at the Detroit Pistons.
Golden State Warriors 113-117 San Antonio Spurs (OT)
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Dejounte Murray contributed seven of his 15 points in overtime as the host San Antonio Spurs posted a 117-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Patty Mills highlighted his 18-point performance with five three-pointers as San Antonio improved to 4-1 in overtime this season. LaMarcus Aldridge collected 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
Golden State guard D'Angelo Russell sat out after sustaining a left shoulder contusion in midcourt collision with Luka Doncic on Saturday in the Warriors' 141-121 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Alec Burks erupted for 28 points and Glenn Robinson III matched his career-high with 25 as the Warriors dropped their second straight following a season-high four-game winning streak.
Bryn Forbes drained a three-pointer and Murray took advantage of a poor pass from Marquese Chriss for an easy conversion to give San Antonio a 107-102 lead early in overtime.
Murray sank another pull-up jumper later in the session before draining a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to stake the Spurs to a 114-107 lead with 1:22 to play.
Burks sank a free throw and a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game, but Murray alertly found Aldridge for an easy lay-up to seal the win with 26.2 seconds left.