Fred VanVleet scored 38 points, the most in the game, and Dillon Brooks made a midrange jumper to beat the shot clock and give Houston the lead for good as the Rockets won 119-116 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
The win tied the season series 1-1 and brought Houston within half a game of the Thunder at the top of the Western Conference. VanVleet made four free throws in the last 4.6 seconds. Brooks’ jumper with 33.6 seconds left gave the Rockets a 115-113 lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, while Jalen Williams added 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to cut the lead to one. Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Cason Wallace scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers, to match VanVleet’s 3-pointers in the game’s closing moments.
The fourth quarter saw seven ties, but the Rockets, who had trailed 93-85 late in the third after Gilgeous-Alexander led a 16-4 run, didn’t take their first lead in the fourth until VanVleet hit a buzzer-beating 3 with 1:29 left.
Alperen Sengun had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Houston, with Sengun also contributing nine assists.
Spurs 127, Kings 125
Devin Vassell and Chris Paul hit three 3-pointers in the final stretch, and Victor Wembanyama recorded the third triple-double of his career as San Antonio came from behind to beat Sacramento.
Wembanyama finished with game highs of 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Vassell added 21 points, Julian Champagnie had 19, Keldon Johnson scored 17, and Paul contributed 13 points and 10 assists for the Spurs, who have won five of their last six games.
Domantas Sabonis grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and had a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento, which lost for the sixth time in its last seven games. DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 28 points, while De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points and dished out nine assists. Malik Monk scored 19 points, and Isaac Jones added 12.
Clippers 126, Nuggets 122
James Harden led Los Angeles to a win over Denver with 39 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in Inglewood, California.
Harden made six 3-pointers and played all 24 minutes of the second half, while Norman Powell scored 28 points in his first game back after missing six games due to a hamstring injury. The Clippers have now won eight straight home games, despite an injury to Amir Coffey, who had 13 points before limping off after bumping knees with teammate Ivica Zubac.
Nikola Jokic posted 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists for Denver, moving into a tie for third place on the all-time triple-doubles list with Magic Johnson, with his eighth triple-double of the season and the 138th of his career.
Lakers 105, Jazz 104
Anthony Davis and LeBron James had double-doubles, and Los Angeles held off a late rally by Utah to win in Salt Lake City.
Davis finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while James scored 27 points and had 14 assists. The Lakers won their second game in six tries.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 22 points, and John Collins had 21 points with nine rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight. Walker Kessler posted 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Collin Sexton added 15 points.
Mavericks 137, Trail Blazers 131
Luka Doncic returned from injury to score 36 points, dish out 13 assists, and grab seven rebounds, leading Dallas to victory over Portland.
Doncic shot 15 of 24 from the field after missing the last five games with a wrist injury. The Mavericks won their eighth game in the last nine. Quentin Grimes had a season-high 28 points, going 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Anfernee Simons scored 27 points for Portland, while Shaedon Sharpe had 22 and Deni Avdija added 21. Portland has lost five of its last seven games.
Grizzlies 136, Pacers 121
Memphis overcame a tough start to beat Indiana for its sixth straight win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 25 points and eight rebounds. The Grizzlies also finished with 36 assists, tying a franchise record. Memphis trailed by 19 early but outscored the Pacers 74-46 in the second and third quarters to take an 11-point lead into the final period.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points for Indiana, but the Pacers couldn’t hold off Memphis.
Magic 100, Nets 92
Franz Wagner scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had eight assists to help Orlando extend its winning streak to six with a tough win in Brooklyn.
Orlando won for the 12th time in 13 games and beat Brooklyn for the third time this season in a game with 60 total fouls. Wagner made 12 of 14 free throws, including two after being hit in the face by Nic Claxton, who was ejected with 18 seconds left.
Cameron Johnson led Brooklyn with 26 points but appeared to injure his ankle or hamstring in the final minute. Ben Simmons also left with a bruised knee. The Nets shot 38% (30 of 79) and missed 23 of 31 3-point attempts.
Raptors 119, Heat 116
RJ Barrett scored 37 points to help Toronto hold off a late charge from Miami.
Scottie Barnes added 23 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists for the Raptors, who split their back-to-back games with Miami after losing to them on Friday.
Tyler Herro scored 31 points for Miami, while Bam Adebayo posted 13 points and a season-high 20 rebounds. Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier each scored 17 points.
Knicks 118, Pelicans 85
Mikal Bridges tied a career high with seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points to help New York dominate New Orleans.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Knicks, who broke open the game with a 23-1 run in the first quarter. Jalen Brunson added 16 points, Miles McBride scored 13 off the bench, and Josh Hart contributed 12.
CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 13 points. New Orleans lost its eighth straight game and 14 of its last 15.
Cavaliers 115, Celtics 111
Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points, including 11 straight points late in the fourth quarter, to lead Cleveland past Boston, snapping the Celtics’ seven-game winning streak.
Mitchell hit three 3-pointers and capped his run with a floater that put the Cavaliers ahead 103-101 with 1:07 left. Mitchell finished 12-of-21 from the field and made 6 of 11 3-pointers. Darius Garland added 22 points and eight assists.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 33 points, while Payton Pritchard scored 24 points off the bench. Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points and eight rebounds in his third game back from a foot injury.
