Nets’ backups dominate in home victory over Knicks
HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden scored 35 points for his 22nd straight game with 30 or more and the Houston Rockets never trailed in a 121-119 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
After averaging 52.2 points over the last five games, capped by a franchise-record 61 on Wednesday night at New York, Harden slowed a bit as all of Houston's starters scored 10 points or more.
Eric Gordon led that group with 24, Kenneth Faried had 21, P.J. Tucker added 18 and Austin Rivers 13. Faried also had a season-high 14 rebounds and blocked two shots in his third game with the Rockets.
Kawhi Leonard had 32 points for Toronto.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 14 rebounds and NBA-leading Milwaukee rallied to beat Charlotte, outscoring the Hornets 32-12 in the fourth quarter.
Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points, Eric Bledsoe had 18, and Khris Middleton 15 to help the Bucks improve to 35-12 with their sixth straight victory. They are 22-4 at home.
Charlotte star Kemba Walker was injured in a scrum with 2:06 left when Antetokounmpo landed him. Walker headed directly to the locker room. Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 19 points, Jeremy Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist each had 16, and Walker had 10 on 3-of-12 shooting.
NEW YORK (AP) — Theo Pinson, Ed Davis and Shabazz Napier carried a Brooklyn bench that dominated New York — even without Spencer Dinwiddie — for its sixth straight victory.
Pinson, on a two-way contract, scored a career-high 19 points. Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Napier added 18 points as the Nets' reserves turned around and then ran away with the game even without Dinwiddie, their sixth man who has torn ligaments in his right thumb.
D'Angelo Russell was largely ineffective with just 12 points, but Brooklyn put four reserves in double figures and had a 59-33 rebounding advantage.
Trey Burke scored 25 points and Noah Vonleh had a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds for the visiting Knicks. They have lost eight in a row and 21 of their last 23.
DENVER (AP) — Paul Millsap scored 20 points and Denver overcame Nikola Jokic's one-game suspension to race past Phoenix, sending the short-handed Suns to their seventh straight loss.
Jokic, the Nuggets' leader in points, rebounds and assists, was banished for a night by the NBA for leaving the bench during an altercation in Utah two nights earlier.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 35 points.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Green made the go-ahead layup with 42 seconds left and scored a season-high 24 points to help Washington beat Orlando.
Bradley Beal had 27 points and seven assists for the Wizards. They won for the fifth time in seven games. Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 28 points and nine rebounds.
CHICAGO (AP) — Lou Williams had 31 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career triple-double to help Los Angeles beat Chicago.
Zach Lavine scored 29 points for Chicago. The Bulls have lost 12 of their last 13.
JAZZ 106, TIMBERWOLVES 102
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and had a career-high 11 assists and Utah Jazz outlasted Minnesota.
Rudy Gobert added had 18 points and 16 rebounds to help the Jazz win for the eighth time in nine games. Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 32 points, Maxi Kleber hit key 3-pointer after blocking a shot by Blake Griffin and Dallas beat Detroit.
Griffin scored 35 points for his eighth 30-point game in the past 11.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Justise Winslow scored 27 points and Hassan Whiteside had 14 points and 13 rebounds to help Miami beat Cleveland.
Dwyane Wade scored 13 points in his final game at Quicken Loans Arena. Cedi Osman scored a career-high 29 points for the Cavaliers. They have lost 18 of 19.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Buddy Hield scored 26 points, De'Aaron Fox added 22, including a key 19-footer in the final minute, and Sacramento held off Memphis.
Omri Casspi led the Grizzlies with 18 points. The have lost eight straight.