BOSTON (AP) — James Harden had 42 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets held on the beat the Boston Celtics 115-104 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Harden made six 3-pointers and scored 40 or more points for the 24th time this season. Houston entered the day in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, a game behind of fourth-place Oklahoma City.
Eric Gordon added 32 points and had eight 3-pointers.
Boston has lost five of last six. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Al Horford finished with 19 points.
DETROIT (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 14 of his 27 points in the first quarter and Detroit outlasted Toronto.
Detroit took advantage of Toronto resting star forward Kawhi Leonard less than 48 hours after he made the go-ahead shot in the closing seconds in a victory over Portland.
Reggie Jackson scored 19 points for Deyroitm and Andre and Drummond had 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 35 points for Toronto. Pascal Siakam added 21.
THUNDER 99, GRIZZLIES 95
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 13-point deficit in the final seven minutes to beat Memphis.
Dennis Schroder added 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, and Steven Adams had 13 points and 22 rebounds to help the Thunder snap a four-game losing streak. Paul George, the NBA's No. 2 scorer, missed his third straight game because of asore right shoulder. Oklahoma City stepped up late without its defensive leader, holding the Grizzlies to 6-for-21 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Avery Bradley scored 27 points for Memphis.
CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Len scored a season-high 28 points and Atlanta beat Chicago, two days after the Bulls outlasted the Hawks 168-161 in quadruple overtime in Atlanta
Len finished three points shy of his career high. He also made a personal-best five 3-pointers.
Trae Young scored 18 before getting ejected early in the third quarter for taunting Chicago's Kris Dunn for his second technical foul. Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 19 points.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rookie Landry Shamet scored all of his 21 points on 3-pointers, Danilo Gallinari added 20 and Los Angeles sent New York to its 50th loss of the season.
Shamet and Gallinari combined for 27 of the Clippers' 38 points in the first quarter when they raced to a 38-20 lead. Shamet scored 18 points in the opening 12 minutes. He tied the franchise record for threes in a quarter (six) and a half (seven), and set a franchise rookie record for 3s in a single game.
Damyean Dotson and Noah Vonleh each had 17 points for New York.
TRAIL BLAZERS 118, HORNETS 108
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rodney Hood scored 27 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 26 points and 15 rebounds and Portland beat Charlotte.
Damian Lillard had 23 points to help the Trail Blazers win for the sixth time in seven games. Jeremy Lamb had 23 points, and Kemba Walker added 18 points and a season-high 12 assists for the Hornets.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points, Kevin Love had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Cleveland pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.
Nikola Vucevic scored 28 points for Orlando.
WIZARDS 135, TIMBERWOLVES 121
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bobby Portis had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Bradley Beal and Jabari Parker each scored 22 points to help Washington beat Minnesota.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
