NBA: Harden fuels Rockets past Trail Blazers
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2018 07:58:05 +0000
Houston Rockets’ James Harden points toward the fans after making a basket against the Portland Trail Blazers. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HOUSTON (AP) – James Harden had 29 points and seven Rockets scored in double-figures as Houston used a big second-half run and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 111-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
Clint Capela added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with five minutes left, and Eric Gordon, who started in place of James Ennis, had 14 points for the Rockets, who shot 49 percent from the field.
Houston’s bench played a key role in a 24-6 first-half run that erased a 15-point deficit, and then led a charge in the second half. Gerald Green had 13 points, and Danuel House had 12 off the bench.
Damian Lillard had 34 points, CJ McCollum scored 22 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 15 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, which shot 44 percent after starting the game by making seven of its first nine shots.
Houston used a 25-5 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters, and opened a 100-83 lead on 3-pointer by Harden with 6:48 left. House and Green each had five points in the run.
The Blazers responded with a 14-2 run and cut the lead to 102-97 when Nurkic made a pair of free throws with three minutes left.
After trading baskets, Houston pushed the lead to 107-99 on a free throw by Harden and two free throws by Chris Paul. After Lillard missed a layup, Paul hit two more free throws to push the lead back to 10 points with 1:38 left. Portland got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
SPURS 111, SUNS 86
In San Antonio, Bryn Forbes had a season-high 24 points and a career-best 11 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 111-86 on Tuesday night.
San Antonio has won three straight halfway through a six-game homestand. The Spurs, who are allowing 113.3 points per game, have limited their opponents to 101 points during their winning streak.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points in 25 minutes. He sat out the fourth quarter with San Antonio leading by as many as 25 points.
Phoenix, which was without leading scorer Devin Booker for the fifth straight game, never led while falling to 4-24.
T.J. Warren led the Suns with 23 points and De’Anthony Melton added 17. Rookie DeAndre Ayton was the only other Phoenix player in double figures, scoring 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting.