Harden scores 40 in Rockets’ 103-98 comeback win over Magic
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) _ James Harden scored 40 points, including five critical ones down the stretch to lead the Houston Rockets to a 103-98 comeback win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
Houston trailed by as many as 16 and never led until there were about four minutes remaining. The game was tied with about 75 seconds left when a 3-pointer by Harden put the Rockets up 98-95. Terrence Ross missed a 3 on the other end and Harden added a step-back jumper with 30 seconds left to stretch the lead.
Harden got his third block when he swatted away a shot by Evan Fournier, and Chris Paul added two free throws with 13.6 seconds remaining to secure Houston’s third straight victory. Paul had 12 points and six assists after missing the previous 17 games with a strained left hamstring.
Harden extended his streak of 30-point games to 23, which ranks fourth in NBA history behind three such streaks by Wilt Chamberlain. Harden, who had 11 rebounds and six assists, has scored 40 or more points in 12 of his last 17 games, including a franchise-record 61 points against the Knicks last week.
Aaron Gordon had 23 points to lead the Magic, who have dropped six of seven.
The Rockets got another strong game from Kenneth Faried, signed last week to fill in while Clint Capela recovers from thumb surgery. Faried finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Harden scored 38 points in a 116-109 loss to the Magic this month despite going 1 for 17 from 3-point range. He fared better on Sunday, making four of 12 attempts on a night when Houston hit 12 of 36 tries.
Orlando had an eight-point lead before Houston used an 11-3 spurt to tie it at 87 with seven minutes left. Paul drained two 3-pointers during that stretch and Gerald Green added a third.
Ross made a 3 for Orlando to power a 5-2 run that put the Magic back on top 92-89 with five minutes left.
But then Houston scored the next four points, capped by a layup from P.J. Tucker, to make it 93-92 and give the Rockets their first lead of the game about a minute later.
The Magic led by seven at halftime and had pushed it to 76-61 midway through the third after scoring nine straight points, five by Gordon.
Eric Gordon made a 3 for Houston’s first points in almost four minutes after that, starting an 11-4 run that cut the lead to 80-72 with about a minute left in the quarter.
Aaron Gordon added a basket for Orlando and Paul hit one for Houston to leave the Magic up by eight entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Magic: Nikola Vucevic had 19 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. … Fournier added 18 points. … Orlando shot 10 of 35 on 3-pointers.
Rockets: Faried has scored 10 points or more in each of his four games with the team. … Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said before the game that Brandon Knight was available after missing the previous seven games with a sore left knee, but he did not play.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Rockets: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
Aldridge leads Spurs past Wizards 132-119
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Washington Wizards 132-119 on Sunday night to snap a two-game skid at home.
The Spurs were without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, but had seven players in double figures. Reserve Davis Bertans had a season-high 21 points after missing the previous two games due to personal reasons. Backcourt starters Derrick White and Bryn Forbes added 16 points each.
Washington, which had won five of seven, lost its 19th straight in San Antonio. Thomas Satoransky had a season-high 21 points, which were matched by Bradley Beal.
It was the fifth time the Spurs have scored 130-plus points, but it was their early defense that drew Gregg Popovich’s ire.
San Antonio’s coach called a timeout 16 seconds into the game after the Wizards’ Thomas Bryant had an uncontested dunk. The Spurs would hold the Wizards to 2-for-9 shooting while going on runs of 11-2 and 15-2.
The Spurs extended their lead to 13 points, but the Wizards rallied after each run with crisp ball movement. The Wizards’ final lead came at 69-67 with 1:25 remaining in the first half.
San Antonio’s bench outscored Washington’s 54-27.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington has not won in San Antonio this century, last defeating the Spurs on the road Dec. 11, 1999. Mitch Richmond scored 31 points in leading the Wizards to a 99-89 victory. … Forward Sam Dekker missed the game with back spasms. … Center Ian Mahinmi sat out with a sprained right thumb. … Satoransky’s previous high was 20 points, which he scored twice with the most recent Jan. 24 against Golden State.
Spurs: DeRozan missed his second straight game and third in two weeks with a left leg injury. DeRozan first sat out with a sore left ankle against Minnesota on Jan. 18 and missed the past two games with a sore left knee. San Antonio is 2-0 without the 10-year veteran. … Pau Gasol made his sixth start of the season, giving him 1,150 career starts to move past Ray Allen for 19th in league history. … Patty Mills became the 13th player in franchise history to play 500 games with the Spurs. Of the dozen other players, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Bruce Bowen and Johnny Moore all had their numbers retired.
STILL OUT
Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray appears to be making significant progress in his rehabilitation from right ACL surgery, but will still not return this season.
“Zero,” Popovich said of the chances of possible return. “It’s an ACL. Unless there’s some new deal out there that someone came up with that we don’t know about.”
Murray was injured Oct. 7 while driving to the basket in a preseason game against Houston and underwent surgery Oct. 19. The Spurs said at the time that the third-year guard would miss the entire season and have not altered that prognosis since.
Murray tweeted a video Saturday showing his progress in a recent workout. With no sleeve or brace on his right knee, the 6-foot-5 guard shoots a jumper and then makes a series of quick crossovers before tossing up a runner.
“God is great, back perfecting my craft,” Murray wrote. “Fall down and get back up always!”
UP NEXT
Wizards: At Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Spurs: Host Phoenix on Tuesday night.
Leonard scores 33 as Raptors beat Doncic, Mavericks 123-120
By DAVE JACKSON
DALLAS (AP) _ Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points to help the Toronto Raptors overcome a triple-double from Dallas rookie Luka Doncic in a 123-120 win over the Mavericks on Sunday night.
Pascal Siakam’s three-point play snapped a 108-108 tie with 3:56 remaining as the Raptors recovered from a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
Doncic, who will turn 20 on Feb. 28, finished with a career-high 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to become the first teenager in NBA history with two triple-doubles.
Danny Green’s floater in the lane extended Toronto’s lead to 116-112 with 1:34 remaining. Harrison Barnes missed two critical free throws for the Mavericks, and Leonard scored on a driving lay-up and then converted a free throw after a turnover by Doncic. The Raptors iced the game at the line.
Kyle Lowry scored 19 points for Toronto and Siakam had 14.
Doncic once again turned the fourth quarter into his personal highlight reel, scoring 13 points, including a coast-to-coast dunk that gave Dallas a 99-93 lead.
When the Raptors pulled to 101-99, Doncic answered with a long 3 to reach 30 points for the sixth time this season. Doncic got his 10th assist to complete the triple-double by feeding DeAndre Jordan for an alley-oop dunk with 3:29 left in the fourth. But by that point, the Mavs were trailing.
Dallas turned the game around by outscoring Toronto 30-15 in the third quarter, one in which the Raptors made only 4 of 19 field goals and were assessed four technical fouls _ three for defensive 3-second violations.
Barnes scored 14 for the Mavericks and Dennis Smith Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith had 13 each.
Dallas’ Wesley Matthews became the first undrafted player in NBA history _ and 31st overall _ to make 1,500 3-pointers when he hit his second of the game with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
Lowry made a long 3-pointer as the quarter buzzer sounded to give the Raptors a 38-32 lead after one. The Raptors increased the lead to 13 in the second quarter and led 70-58 at the break.
But Toronto missed its first 10 shots of the second half and had two defensive 3-second violations in the first 5 minutes of the half. A 10-1 run got Dallas to 71-68 before Leonard converted a three-point play to end the drought.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Leonard has scored 20 or more points in 22 straight games but has been inactive eight times during his scoring streak.
Mavericks: Smith received a technical foul in the first quarter when, after scoring a lay-up over a Serge Ibaka, flexed his muscles over the fallen Raptors player. … Jordan, second in the NBA in rebounding with 14 a game, didn’t corral one until 3:46 remained in the second quarter but finished with nine.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Host Milwaukee on Thursday night in a matchup of the East’s top two teams.
Mavericks: At New York on Wednesday night to open a three-game trip.