James Harden scored 36 points and Russell Westbrook bagged a triple double as the Houston Rockets extended their red-hot winning streak to eight games with a 132-108 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Harden, fresh from a 49-point display in Saturday’s win over Minnesota, was once again in commanding form against a Portland team who were always second best at Houston’s Toyota Center.
The 2017-2018 NBA Most Valuable Player also had six rebounds and five assists as the Blazers struggled to contain the Rockets’ multi-pronged offense.
Westbrook tormented the Portland defense, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on a night when all five Houston starters finished in double figures.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni praised the contribution of Westbrook.
“Russell had an extra gear tonight, but it’s hard to single out one guy,” D’Antoni said. “They’re all playing well.”
The Rockets coach reserved special praise for Harden though, once again repeating his belief that the 30-year-old is the best offensive player he has ever seen.
“I’m lost for words,” D’Antoni said. 
“What he does is unbelievable... No matter what the other teams try to do, double-team or whatever, he just figures it out. It’s incredible what he’s doing.”
The win saw the Rockets improve to 11-3 at the top of the Western Conference, neck-and-neck with the pace-setting Los Angeles Lakers (11-2).
C.J. McCollum led the scoring for Portland with 25 points, but teammate Damian Lillard was kept quiet with only 13 points. Portland fell to 5-9 with the defeat.
In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored a career-high 42 points and bagged a triple double to guide the Mavericks to a 117-110 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The 20-year-old Slovenian is the second youngest player in history to score a 40-point triple double after LeBron James. 
“It’s not surprising to me,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. 
“This guy can do anything he wants to on a basketball court. And you know, he’s having just one of those magical runs right now, and it’s a phenomenal thing to watch. It’s a phenomenal thing to be a part of. His teammates, we’re all just kind of along for the ride.”
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks finished strong for a 115-101 win over the host Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Brook Lopez had 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocked shots for Milwaukee, which won its fourth game in a row. George Hill scored 18, and Donte DiVincenzo finished with 15. Rookie Daniel Gafford amassed 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Bulls. The second-round draft pick from Arkansas entered the game with zero points in four games off the bench.
Fellow Bulls rookie Coby White scored 13 points off the bench and made 3 of 6 attempts from 3-point range. Zach LaVine made only 4 of 16 shot attempts but finished with 11 points.
Milwaukee closed the game on a 17-2 run to wipe out a 99-98 deficit. Eric Bledsoe and Lopez each converted three-point plays during the final 5:04, which also included six points from Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks led 98-90 with 8:11 remaining when Chicago stormed back with a 9-0 run to grab a one-point lead with 6:23 to go. The outburst included three consecutive 3-pointers, with Ryan Arcidiacono knocking down the first one and White draining the next two.
Chicago trailed 84-81 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls were down by nine points with 1:35 left in the third quarter after a layup by Antetokounmpo, but Chicago bounced back by scoring seven of the next eight points, including a late 3-pointer by White.
Milwaukee led 60-56 at the half after finishing the second quarter on a 12-2 run. A 3-pointer by Hill started the scoring binge, which also included a 3-pointer, a dunk and a jump shot by Antetokounmpo and another basket from Hill.
The Bucks built a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but Chicago scored the final six points of the session to close the gap to 29-26. Gafford (four points) and White (two points) accounted for all of the scoring during the run.
Chicago dropped to 2-5 at home. Milwaukee improved to 7-2 on the road.
In Los Angeles, Paul George scored 17 points against his former team as the Clippers eked out a nail-biting 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Montrezl Harrell was the star for the Clippers with 28 points off the bench in a hard-fought contest that went right down to the buzzer.
In Toronto, O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam sparked the Raptors in a 132-96 demolition of the Charlotte Hornets.
Anunoby had 24 points and Siakam 20 as seven Toronto players finished in double figures against an outclassed Charlotte team.
The Boston Celtics remain on top of the Eastern Conference table after grinding out a 99-85 win over the Phoenix Suns. 
Jayson Tatum had 26 points and Kemba Walker 19 as the Celtics improved to 11-2.

RESULTS
NEW YORK 123 Cleveland 105 
Indiana 115 BROOKLYN 86 
TORONTO 132 Charlotte 96 
Milwaukee 115 CHICAGO 101 
HOUSTON 132 Portland 108 
DALLAS 117 San Antonio 110 
Boston 99 PHOENIX 85 
Minnesota 112 UTAH 102 
LA CLIPPERS 90 Oklahoma City 88