(The Sports Xchange) – James Harden converted a coast-to-coast layup with 2.4 seconds remaining to cap a wild fourth quarter and give the Houston Rockets a 125-124 win over the Denver Nuggets at Toyota Center.
Harden corralled the rebound of an errant shot from Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson and raced up the center of the court before scoring to give the Rockets their final lead.
He followed with a deflection on the subsequent inbounds pass intended for Nuggets center Mason Plumlee to seal the victory.
Six Rockets scored in double figures, with Harden leading the way with a game-high 39 points and 11 assists.
Gary Harris scored 28 points, and Will Barton tallied 24 points for the Nuggets, who fell to 0-3 against Houston this season.
Warriors 111, Thunder 95
Klay Thompson made seven three-pointers and scored 34 points, and Steph Curry also buried seven three-pointers on his way to 23 points to lead Golden State past Oklahoma City.
The Thunder’s Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 17 points. Russell Westbrook had a sub-par night. He was held to 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Warriors swept the season series with the Thunder 4-0 by an average of more than 20 points per game.
Celtics 110, Wizards 102
The Celtics, responding after a loss in Philadelphia on Sunday, held off the Wizards in a battle for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Boston earned its 11th win in its past 12 home games to extend its lead to 2 1/2 games over Washington. The Wizards cut a 20-point third-quarter deficit to six late, but four straight points by Boston’s Marcus Smart put the game away.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 25 points, while the Wizards, losing for the fourth in their last five games, got 19 points from Bradley Beal.
Hornets 105, Hawks 90
Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker led a balanced attack with 16 points apiece, as the Hornets won their second straight game and beat the Hawks for the third time in three meetings this season.
The Hawks lost their fifth straight and were without starters Paul Millsap (knee) and Kent Bazemore (knee). Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 20 points.
Pacers 107, Jazz 100
Paul George made a clutch jumper with 18.9 seconds remaining as Indiana overcame Gordon Hayward’s career-best 38 points to beat Utah.
A three-point play from Jeff Teague with 5:58 remaining gave Indiana a 94-84 lead. But Utah got a three-pointer and a layup from Hayward to close to within 100-97 with 2:11 left. George’s 3-pointer with 1:58 remaining gave the Pacers a 103-97 lead.
Magic 112, 76ers 109 (OT)
Nikola Vucevic scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Orlando won a second consecutive game for just the first time since late December.
Evan Fournier had 19 points, including five in overtime, while center Rashaun Holmes led the Sixers with 24 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs.
Clippers 114, Knicks 105
Blake Griffin scored 30 points in three quarters and Los Angeles beat New York for the 10th consecutive time.
DeAndre Jordan had 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and J.J. Redick also scored 14 for the Clippers. Austin Rivers came off the bench to score 17 points, while Chris Paul had 13 points and 13 assists for Los Angeles.
