Russell Westbrook scored a 41-point high, and James Harden escaped a bad night of shooting with two free throws with 24.3 seconds left in overtime as the Houston Rockets capped a host season sweep Boston Celtics with a 111-110 victory on Saturday. .
29 Feb 2020; Boston, Massachusetts, United States; Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook (0) walks past Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Harden scored 21 points on just 7 of 24 shots and committed five turnovers. But his free throws, just his second and third in the game, gave Houston the advantage. Jaylen Brown of the Celtics sank the 3-hit pointer who forced overtime, correcting a loose ball after Jayson Tatum missed two free throws, the second intentionally, with 5.1 seconds left and Boston trailing 104 -101.
Westbrook and Harden combined for 12 rebounds and 13 assists, while Robert Covington had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, who followed a 6-point shot for 22 3-point points in the first half with a 7 points out of 15 from behind the arc in the third to erase a deficit of 17 points. P.J. Tucker added 13 rebounds.
Tatum paired 32 points with 13 rebounds for Boston, while Brown added 22 points. Marcus Smart scored 26 for the Celtics, who received 15 rebounds and three blocks from Daniel Theis.
Memphis Grizzlies 105 – Los Angeles Lakers 88
Ja Morant had 27 points and tied his career high of 14 assists, and host Memphis had a five-game losing streak while finishing the Los Angeles seven-game winning streak.
Dillon Brooks scored 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and 20 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who saved the final from four games against the Lakers this season. It was the second consecutive effort of 20 rebounds for Valanciunas.
LeBron James had 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, which saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end. Anthony Davis had 15 points and nine rebounds, and 88 points are a low season for the Lakers.
Atlanta Hawks 129 – Portland Trail Blazers 117
Trae Young led a balanced attack with his 26th double-double of the season and allowed Atlanta to win over Portland.
Young had 25 points – including 10 for 10 from the line – and 15 assists and was one of six Atlanta players to score double-digit. The Hawks also got 24 points and 10 rebounds from John Collins, his 19th double-double.
Portland was led by C.J. McCollum with 35 points. The Trail Blazers also got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside and 15 points from Gary Trent Jr.
New York Knicks 125 – Chicago Bulls 115
Mitchell Robinson scored 23 points, Julius Randle added 22 points and the two players had 10 rebounds, helping the New York host score a six-game losing streak with a win against Chicago.
New York opened a five-game championship with its first victory at Madison Square Garden since February 6. The Knicks have only 9-20 at home this season.
Chicago lost for the 10th time in 11 games despite a 26-point high from Zach LaVine. The Bulls finished 1-8 in February to drop 20 games below the .500 mark.
Miami Heat 116 – Brooklyn Nets 113
Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points and hit a 3-point clutch pointer in the stretch as Miami held up against Brooklyn.
Nunn’s biggest shot of the night was a 3-point pointer from the right with a second left on the shot clock which gave Miami a 112-103 lead with 2:44 left.
Jimmy Butler split a pair on the line with 9.1 seconds remaining to make 115-113, and the Nets called a timeout. Spencer Dinwiddie managed to throw the ball in the second row after Joe Harris was late to provide an in-game offside screen with 1.7 seconds remaining. Miami won their second consecutive victory when Goran Dragic had a free throw with four tenths of a second left.
Indiana Pacers 113 – Cleveland Cavaliers 104
T.J. Warren scored 30 points, making 14 of 20 shots from the field, while the Indiana visit beat Cleveland. Malcolm Brogdon has 22 points and eight assists for the Pacers, who have won five of their last six games following a six-game skid, the peak of the season.
Indiana’s Victor Oladipo scored a 19-point high in his 10th game since returning from a year-long absence from a broken right knee tendon. The Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis recorded their 46th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Cleveland’s Andre Drummond had 27 points and 13 rebounds after returning from a two-game absence due to left calf tension. He also collected four assists and four interceptions.
San Antonio Spurs 114 – Orlando Magic 113
Bryn Forbes had five points in a late heat and Trey Lyles tallied 20 points while San Antonio survived Orlando.
With a draw at 111, Forbes scored a 3-point pointer with 50.5 seconds remaining to place the Spurs ahead of 114-111. Markelle Fultz’s jumper with 40.3 seconds left brought the Magic to a point.
Evan Fournier of Orlando missed a jumper who could have won the game with 2.2 seconds remaining, allowing the Spurs to take a two-game slide. Fournier led the Magic with 23 points. Rudy Gay added 19 points for the Spurs.
Golden State Warriors 115 – Phoenix Suns 99
Seven of eight Golden State players who saw the action double-digit as the injury-stricken club rallied to host Phoenix as
Reserve rookie Eric Paschall tallied 25 points for the game, and Damion Lee completed 20 points with eight assists for Golden State, resulting in a streak of eight defeats and a split in the streak of four. season games with Phoenix. The Warriors’ last three wins are all on the road.
Devin Booker had a 21-point high and Deandre Ayton 20 with a nine-game rebound for the Suns, who lost both ends of a straight game after falling 113-111 in Detroit on Friday. .
—Media at field level
