NBA roundup: James Harden scores 35, Rockets beat Raptors 107-95
TORONTO – James Harden scored 35 points, Gerald Green had 11 of his 18 in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-95 on Tuesday night.
Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers each scored 13 points as the Rockets won their sixth straight, matching a season high.
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and Serge Ibaka had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Toronto. Pascal Siakam had 17 points, and Danny Green 14 as the Raptors had their seven-game home winning streak snapped.
Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer, made 12 of 30 shots, including three of nine from long range. He was perfect at the foul line, hitting all eight of his attempts.
Harden has scored 28 or more points in 39 straight games, the second-longest streak in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain (71 games) holds the record.
Celtics 128, Warriors 95
OAKLAND, Calif. – Gordon Hayward scored 30 points off the bench, Kyrie Irving had 19 points and 11 assists, and Boston ran away from the Golden State early in a game that turned testy with the two-time defending champions down big.
Jayson Tatum scored 17 points for the Celtics, who came in having lost five of six since the All-Star break.
Stephen Curry provided a bright spot with 23 points and four 3-pointers on a night Splash Brother Klay Thompson sat out with soreness in his right knee.
Kevin Durant scored 18 points but committed five turnovers, while DeMarcus Cousins wound up with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting – missing all five of his 3-point tries – and nine rebounds to go with four turnovers.
76ers 114, Magic 106
PHILADELPHIA – JJ Redick hit six 3-pointers and scored 26 points to break out of a slump and lead Philadelphia over Orlando.
Redick was 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half (7 of 10 overall) and paced an offense that shot 64 percent in the half and led 70-64. He had been seriously slumping – going 23 of 81 overall over his last seven games and hitting 15 3s. Redick had his first 20-point game since Feb. 10 against the Lakers.
Ben Simmons had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Sixers.
Evan Fournier led the Magic with 25 points and Aaron Gordon had 24.
Pacers 105, Bulls 96
INDIANAPOLIS – Bojan Bogdanovic scored 27 points, Darren Collison added 22 and Indiana beat Chicago.
Indiana was looking to build momentum heading into a crucial 11-game stretch during which the Pacers will play Oklahoma City and Denver twice each and visit Milwaukee, Golden State and Boston.
Chicago was led by Zach LaVine with 27 points. Robin Lopez had 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Bulls lost their fifth in a row to Indiana, including all four games this season. Lauri Markkanen finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Grizzlies 120, Trail Blazers 111
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Mike Conley scored 19 of his career-high 40 points in the fourth quarter as Memphis used a late rally to beat Portland.
Conley made six of his seven shots in the fourth as Memphis erased a nine-point Portland lead in the final quarter with a 38-25 scoring advantage in the period.
Delon Wright matched his career high with 25 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 17.
CJ McCollum led Portland with 27 points, while Damian Lillard added 24. Maurice Harkless finished with 20 points.
Timberwolves 131, Thunder 120
MINNEAPOLIS – Karl-Anthony Towns had 41 points and 14 rebounds as Minnesota spoiled Paul George’s return to the Oklahoma City lineup.
Towns has 182 points over his last five games, the best five-game stretch in team history. He fell one point shy of tying his season high.
The Timberwolves, who snapped a three-game skid, have won all three meetings against the Thunder.
Derrick Rose added 19 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 18 for Minnesota.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook had a team-high 38 points on 15-of-28 shooting.