(The Sports Xchange) – James Harden recorded his 16th triple-double of the season and the Houston Rockets grabbed a season-high 20 offensive rebounds to claim a tense back-and-fourth affair with the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112 on Sunday night.
Harden scored a game-high 38 points and added 10 rebounds and 11 assists as Houston split the season series with Cleveland. His 11-point third quarter effort, helped the Rockets erase a nine-point halftime deficit and his steady hand in the final period enabled Houston to pull away down the stretch.
Six Rockets scored in double figures, including Eric Gordon (13 points) and Nene (12) off the bench.
LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 30 points and added seven rebounds and five assists. Kyrie Irving chipped in 28 points and eight assists for Cleveland, which lost for the fourth time in five games.
Celtics 100, Bulls 80
After scoring the first 13 points of the game, Boston cruised past Chicago, handing the Bulls their season-worst fifth straight loss.
Isaiah Thomas finished with 22 points, and Avery Bradley scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win.
The Bulls scored 26 points in the first half and didn’t make any noise until late in a 31-point third quarter. Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine led Chicago with 13 points apiece. Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, who came in averaging a combined 42.6 points per game, were a combined 6-of-22 from the floor and had five and eight points, respectively.
Pacers 102, Heat 98
Paul George scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to power Indiana past Miami.
Myles Turner chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers.
The Heat played without leading scorer Goran Dragic, who was sidelined due to an orbital contusion in his right eye. Hassan Whiteside led Miami with 26 points and 21 rebounds. Dion Waiters added 20 points and Wayne Ellington 19 for the Heat.
Nets 120, Knicks 112
Brook Lopez hit his first six 3-point attempts and scored 25 points as Brooklyn stopped a franchise-record, 16-game home losing streak with a victory over New York.
Lopez, who missed his first game of the season due to injury Friday, returned from a sprained right ankle. He became the 12th player in NBA history to hit at least 100 3-pointers and block 100 shots.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 27 points and became the seventh player in team history to get at least 10,000 points. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 before fouling out as New York lost for the sixth time in nine games.
Trail Blazers 110, Suns 101
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 65 points, and Portland avoided blowing a big lead for the second straight night by beating Phoenix.
Lillard scored 39 points and McCollum had 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, including seven during a late 13-5 run to put the game away. The Blazers blew a 21-point lead at home to the Washington Wizards in a 125-124 loss on Saturday and gave back an 18-point lead Sunday before regrouping for the win.
Devin Booker had 28 points and Eric Bledsoe added 19 for the Suns, who led twice in the fourth quarter but couldn’t stop Portland’s backcourt duo.
76ers 118, Lakers 116
Dario Saric scored a career-high 29 points, and Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak by beating Los Angeles.
Saric also had seven rebounds and five assists. Jahlil Okafor contributed 23 points and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 18 points for the 76ers, who moved in front for good on T.J. McConnell’s bucket on a drive with 50 seconds left.
Jordan Clarkson matched his career best with 30 points to pace the Lakers, who lost for the ninth time in 10 contests. Julius Randle collected 21 points and 12 rebounds.
