Eric Gordon scored 30 points and James Harden added 10 in his return
from injury as the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves
116-98 on Thursday.
Harden was back in the lineup after missing seven games with a left
hamstring strain and finished with 10 points on three-of-15 shooting. He
played 26 minutes and also had seven assists, two steals and two
blocks.
Chris Paul had 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Clint
Capela added 20 points in the win. Houston has won 15 of the past 17
meetings with Minnesota, including a 10-game winning streak at home.
Coming into the NBA contest, Harden was leading the league in scoring
(32.3 points) and ranked third in assists (9.1). He suffered the injury
in the fourth quarter of a double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles
Lakers on December 31.
Harden also extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 227,
the second-longest active streak behind Cleveland’s LeBron James (834).
Gordon’s three-pointer helped the Rockets finish the third quarter on a
16-4 run to take an 89-70 lead into the fourth with their largest
advantage of the game.
With Rockets forward Trevor Ariza sitting out the first part of a
two-game suspension for a postgame locker room incident on Monday in Los
Angeles, Luc Mbah a Moute started in Ariza’s spot, scoring 14 points.
Along with Ariza, guard Gerald Green was also serving the first of a two-game suspension for the altercation with the Clippers.
Jimmy Butler led Minnesota with 23 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added
22 points and 16 rebounds and five blocks. Andrew Wiggins finished with
16 points.
Elsewhere, Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and hit the go-ahead free
throws with 11 seconds remaining as the Cleveland Cavaliers blew a
23-point lead and held off the Orlando Magic for a 104-103 win Thursday
night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Thomas shot 6 of 15 but also made six of seven free throws. His biggest
points occurred after Orlando briefly took its first lead in the final
minute.
Thomas gave the Cavaliers a seemingly safe 98-91 lead by hitting a
3-pointer with 5:31 remaining, but Orlando stormed back and took a
103-102 lead with 31 seconds left after Shelvin Mack rebounded a missed
3-pointer by Aaron Gordon and converted a short jumper in the lane.
On the next possession, Kevin Love missed a contested dunk but Thomas
grabbed the rebound with 15 seconds left and was fouled by Mack four
seconds left. After Thomas restored Cleveland’s lead, Elfrid Payton
missed a layup. Following a replay review, the game ended with a jump
ball at center court with two-tenths of a second remaining.
LeBron James scored 16 points as the Cavaliers carried a 67-47 lead into
halftime and held a 23-point lead early in the third. He is 25 points
away from becoming the seventh player in NBA history to reach 30,000
career points.
Love added 12 while Dwyane Wade contributed 11 as the Cavaliers won for
the fourth time in 13 games despite committing 19 turnovers.
Payton finished with 19 points and eight assists for Orlando, which has
lost 28 of its last 33 games. Evan Fournier and Gordon added 17 apiece
as the Magic outscored Cleveland 56-37 in the second half but also
missed 17 of 22 3-pointers.
With about a minute left in the third, Jonathon Simmons tracked down a
loose ball near the 3-point line and coasted in for a dunk, cutting the
lead to 80-78. After Wade made an errant pass into the seats, Simmons
tied the game at 80 by hitting two free throws with 49.2 seconds left.
Cleveland took an 84-80 lead into the fourth following hoops by Derrick
Rose and Jeff Green on its last two possessions of the third before
nearly losing down the stretch.
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taj Gibson (67) defends during the second quarter of their NBA game on Thursday. PICTURE: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports