Houston Rockets halt Portland Trail Blazers run; James Harden hits 42
Houston Rockets guard James Harden is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless as he drives to the basket during the second half of NBA action in Portland. AP
Celtics silence Thunder
MANILA, Philippines — The league-leading Houston Rockets ended the Portland Trail Blazers’ 13-game NBA winning streak with a hard-fought 115-111 road victory Tuesday.
In a game featuring the NBA’s two hottest teams, Houston’s Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden scored 42 points to help the Rockets notch their 13th victory in 14 games since the All-Star break.
Neither team led by more than 10 points in a see-saw battle that saw 17 lead changes and 10 ties.
Harden’s step-back three-pointer put the Rockets up 113-104 with 1:55 to play.
The Trail Blazers narrowed the gap to two points in the final minute, but would get no closer.
“They’ve been playing well, we all know that,” Harden said. “Nothing changes for us, no matter who we play. We go out there and just do our thing on both ends of the floor. Tonight was no different.
“Fourth quarter, we stepped up and made big shots. Defensively we got stops when we needed to.”
Forward Al-Farouq Aminu led Portland with 22 points, one of five Trail Blazers to score in double figures.
Jusuf Nurkic added 21 points and Damian Lillard added 20 as Portland maintained their lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder for third place in the Western Conference.
The Celtics dealt the Thunder a damaging 100-99 loss in Boston, where Marcus Morris drained a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to lift hosts.
With Celtics star Kyrie Irving still sidelined by a sore left knee, Jayson Tatum led Boston with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Morris contributed 21 as the Celtics snapped Oklahoma City’s six-game winning streak.
Russell Westbrook scored 27 points with eight rebounds and seven assists for the Thunder, but his last-gasp heave as time expired bounced off the rim.
The Thunder led by six with less than 25 seconds to play, and they were up 99-97 with 12.7 seconds left when Carmelo Anthony missed two free throws.
After a Celtics timeout, Morris drained a fadeaway three-pointer from the right wing for the win.
It was a morale boosting victory for a Celtics team also missing Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis, although it did little to alter the playoff-bound Celtics’ hold on second place in the Eastern Conference.
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