Rockets soar on Harden’s 61

NBA leader bucks cool down Heat Cavs lose; Clarkson scores 20

HOUSTON – James Harden matched his career high with 61 points, including 27 in the first quarter, to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Harden hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Rockets a 103-100 lead and scored all of Houston’s points in a 13-2 run late in the fourth quarter.

Harden topped the 50-point mark for the eighth time this season, compared with 10 such performances from the rest of the league combined. He matched his career-best total set earlier this season against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The NBA’s leading scorer surpassed the 30-point mark in the second quarter and the 40-point mark with 9 minutes remaining in the third.

Bryn Forbes led San Antonio with 20 points, while Derrick White added 18 and DeMar DeRozan had 16.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points, had eight rebounds and seven assists after missing two games with a sprained right ankle and helped NBA-leading Milwaukee over Miami 116-87.

The win came with a brief scare for the Bucks: Antetokounmpo went down in a mix of players after stealing a pass from Goran Dragic early in the second quarter. Milwaukee immediately called a timeout and after a few moments, Antetokounmpo limped to the bench favoring his right leg. A short rest got him right back on the court.

Khris Middleton added 18 points and 10 assists for a career-best three consecutive games with a double-double for Milwaukee, which improved to (29-6) for the second-best home record in the NBA behind the Denver Nuggets (30-6) and secure their most home victories since 2000-01.

Hassan Whiteside came off the bench to score 14 points, Kelly Olynyk added 13 and Bam Adebayo and Dwyane Wade each had 12.

In Toronto, Paul George scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Toronto 116-109.

Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 26 points and Jerami Grant had 19 as the Thunder snapped a four-game losing streak.

In Cleveland, Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and Los Angeles continued its torrid march, edging Cleveland 110-108.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points while Lou Williams had 15 for the Clippers, who are 9-1 this month and closing in on a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Kevin Love scored 22 points for Cleveland, which trailed 94-83 early in the third quarter. Jordan Clarkson and rookie Collin Sexton each had 20.

In New York, Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Denver beat New York for its sixth straight victory 111-93.

Terrence Ross scored 31 points and Evan Fournier had 27, including the game-clinching free throws, and  Orlando rallied to beat Memphis 123-119 in overtime.