Harden, Capela help Rockets over Nuggets 125-113
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) _ James Harden scored 32 points, Clint Capela added a career-high 31 and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 125-113 on Monday night.
P.J. Tucker set a career high with seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 21 points to help Houston win for the 12th time in 14 games. Capela had 19 points by halftime as Harden fed him again and again when Denver double teamed him behind the 3-point line.
Houston was up by 11 after two free throws by Torrey Craig with about 5 1/2 minutes left before Tucker and Harden made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 117-100 about a minute later.
Gerald Green had 21 points and made six 3s on a night Houston made 22 3s for its sixth game this season with at least 20.
Nikola Jokic scored 24 points for the Nuggets, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Harden had 14 assists, six 3-pointers and scored at least 30 points for the 13th straight game.
The Rockets led 70-60 at halftime after Harden made two 3-pointers in the last 90 seconds of the second quarter. The first of those shots is sure to show up on highlight reels, as Murray slipped and fell to the court trying to guard him before Harden stepped back for the basket.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Coach Michael Malone said Will Barton (hip) is making progress and could return in the next couple of weeks. … Morris added 21 points off the bench.
Rockets: Houston traded Michael Carter-Williams and cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls on Monday for a protected second-round pick in the 2020 draft. The Bulls then waived the guard following the trade. … Chris Paul missed his eighth game in a row with a strained left hamstring. … Eric Gordon missed his fourth straight game with a bruised right knee.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
Rockets: Host Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Spurs beat Pistons 119-107; Popovich ties Sloan
By NOAH TRISTER
DETROIT (AP) _ DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, and Gregg Popovich moved another step higher on the NBA’s career wins list as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 119-107 on Monday night.
Popovich now has 1,221 victories. He’s tied with Jerry Sloan for third place, trailing only Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens.
Popovich didn’t seem too happy early on against the Pistons. The Spurs called a timeout with 6:19 left in the first quarter, down 17-9. After a turnover led to a dunk by Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Popovich took another timeout, 14 seconds after the first one.
San Antonio appeared to get the message. A 23-2 run spanning parts of the first and second quarters put the Spurs up 45-33.
It was relatively smooth sailing from there for San Antonio, which led 59-51 at halftime and 84-73 after three quarters.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points for the Spurs. Blake Griffin scored 34 for Detroit, and Drummond added 19 points and 14 rebounds.
San Antonio was without forward Rudy Gay, out with a sprained left wrist, but the Spurs still won a season-high fifth straight game. Detroit has lost seven of nine.
ANOTHER LIST
It was the 518th road victory for Popovich, breaking a tie with Nelson for second on that career list. He’s now two behind leader Pat Riley.
TIP-INS
Spurs: San Antonio came into the game averaging 12.3 turnovers per game, the lowest mark in the league. The Spurs had only nine against Detroit. … DeRozan also had nine assists and seven rebounds.
Pistons: Detroit was without backup C Zaza Pachulia (right lower leg contusion).
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit Memphis on Wednesday night.
Pistons: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Ingram, Ball lead Lakers to 107-97 win over Mavericks
By DAVE JACKSON
DALLAS (AP) _ Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and Lonzo Ball added 21 as the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Dallas Mavericks a rare home loss, 107-97, on Monday night.
The two young Lakers responded to their coach Luke Walton’s demand for more passion after a blowout loss to Minnesota on Sunday. The duo helped rally Los Angeles from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Lakers won for just the second time in seven games since LeBron James strained his groin on Christmas Day, and they swept the season series from the Mavericks 3-0.
Los Angeles surged ahead by outscoring the Mavericks 32-13 in the third quarter. The Lakers took their first lead of the game late in the third quarter on Ball’s dunk. They closed the third on a 13-4 run with Ball and Michael Beasley scoring 11 of the 13 points.
An 11-2 run to start the fourth put the Lakers up 96-82 with 8:52 to play. Dallas closed to within seven twice in the fourth quarter, but each time Ingram drew the defense to him and dished to JaVale McGee for dunks.
Luka Doncic scored 27 points to lead Dallas. The rookie was virtually the entire Mavericks offense in the second half, making six of his team’s field goals after the break. Dallas had 11 turnovers in the second half in addition to 11-for-43 shooting.
Dallas fell to 16-4 at home. The Mavericks entered the day tied for the fewest home losses in the NBA.
The Lakers came back from 13 down at halftime to tie the score 76-all when Ball hit the second of two free throws with 3:47 left in the third quarter, capping a 22-9 run.
With James still out, the Lakers got Kyle Kuzma back in the lineup after missing the past two games with a lower-back contusion. Kuzma missed his first eight shots and didn’t score until midway through the second quarter, but he hit two 3s early in the third quarter to spark the Lakers’ comeback.
The Dallas bench helped the Mavs build a double-digit lead and hold it steady through the second quarter. Reserves Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith and J.J. Barea combined for 23 points in the first half as Dallas led 67-54 at the break. The Mavs shot 58 percent from the field in the first half.
TIP-INS
Lakers: In what might have been Dirk Nowitzki’s final match-up against the Lakers, Walton joked that he wouldn’t match up Nowitzki’s countryman Moritz Wagner against his fellow German. “Mo has talked about that he’s a national treasure there (in Germany),” Walton said. “We’ll try to keep Mo off him. When legends get guys that look up to them guarding them, they kinda have their way.” Wagner didn’t get into the game.
Mavericks: Barea played his 800th game, becoming the 11th undrafted player from a U.S. high school or college to play 800 games since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. … Numerous Dallas Cowboys, including running back Ezekiel Elliott and linebacker Jaylon Smith, attended the game, drawing an ovation from the sellout crowd.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host Detroit on Wednesday.
Mavericks: Host Phoenix on Wednesday. Two of the Suns’ nine wins this year have come against Dallas.