James Harden scored 41 points en route to his second triple-double of the season and the visiting Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-115 on a historic night Wednesday.
The Hawks’ Trae Young finished with 42 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists — the first 40-point triple-double in Hawks history. It was Young’s sixth 40-point game and his second triple-double of the season. The game also marked the first time in NBA history that there were two 40-point triple-doubles in the same game.
Harden had a subpar shooting night — making only 9 of 34 — but was 19 of 23 from the line with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It was Harden’s 44th career triple-double and his 15th 40-point triple-double, second-most in NBA history.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 23 in the second quarter, but cut the lead to 118-115 with 18 seconds left. Harden made four free throws over the final 10.4 seconds to put the game away. Houston defeated the Hawks for the sixth straight time.
Denver Nuggets 107 – Dallas Mavericks 106
Nikola Jokic scored 33 points, including a go-ahead layup with 7.9 seconds left, and visiting Denver held off Dallas down the stretch for the win.
Jokic added seven assists and six rebounds as he won a showdown with Dallas’ Luka Doncic, who had 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a losing cause.
Dallas played its fifth straight game without Kristaps Porzingis (knee), while the Nuggets were without two starters, guard Will Barton (personal reasons) and Paul Millsap (knee).
San Antonio Spurs 129 – Boston Celtics 114
DeMar DeRozan led the way with 30 points as San Antonio crushed host Boston.
Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench as the Spurs won for the fourth time in their last six games. San Antonio shot 55.2 percent (48 of 87) as a team to avenge a 135-115 home loss to Boston earlier this season.
Gordon Hayward scored 18 points, as the Celtics narrowly avoided their worst loss of the season in just their third defeat at home. Kemba Walker, returning from three games missed with the flu, had six points before getting ejected in the third quarter.
Miami Heat 122 – Indiana Pacers 108
Jimmy Butler, who missed the previous game due to a back injury, had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead Miami to a convincing win in Indianapolis.
Miami, which never trailed past the first quarter, had six other players with double-figure points: Tyler Herro (19), Derrick Jones Jr. (18), Bam Adebayo (18), Duncan Robinson (17), Goran Dragic (15) and Kendrick Nunn (15). Adebayo also had a team-high nine rebounds.
Indiana, which fell to 15-5 at home, was led by power forward Domantas Sabonis, who had game highs in points (27) and rebounds (14). He also had six assists. The Heat’s Justise Winslow returned after missing 15 consecutive games due to a back injury. Winslow, who hadn’t played since Dec. 4, played 16 minutes off the bench but did not score. He had two rebounds and one assist.
Milwaukee Bucks 107 – Golden State Warriors 98
Milwaukee used a stellar defensive effort to overcome poor shooting, struggling past host Golden State.
Two days after shooting 15-for-45 on 3-pointers in a 126-104 loss at San Antonio, the Bucks were dreadful from behind the line — 9-for-41 — but still managed a sixth win in their last seven games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, and Khris Middleton 21 for the Bucks, who won for the third straight time at Golden State, this time in their first visit to the new Chase Center in San Francisco.
Orlando Magic 123 – Washington Wizards 89
Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and nine rebounds, and Orlando routed visiting Washington.
Evan Fournier added 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Orlando, which has won four of five. D.J. Augustin added 18 points off the bench. Khem Birch had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Reserves Troy Brown Jr. and Admiral Schofield led Washington with 18 points each. Wizards guard Bradley Beal missed his fourth straight game with lower right leg soreness. The Wizards remain without a group of regulars that includes Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans among others.
New Orleans Pelicans 123 – Chicago Bulls 108
Brandon Ingram and rookie Jaxson Hayes each had a double-double as host New Orleans defeated Chicago.
Ingram had 29 points and 11 assists, falling two rebounds short of his first career triple-double, and Hayes had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double. Ingram had 16 points as the Pelicans took control by outscoring the Bulls 44-27 in the third quarter.
Zach LaVine scored 32, Thaddeus Young had 18, Kris Dunn 15, Lauri Markkanen 14 and Coby White 10 to lead the Bulls, who lost their fifth straight and for the sixth time in seven games.
Toronto Raptors 112 – Charlotte Hornets 110 (OT)
Serge Ibaka made two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining in overtime to give visiting Toronto a victory against Charlotte.
Ibaka finished with 23 points, matching teammate Terence Davis as the Raptors avoided losses on consecutive nights. OG Anunoby’s 19 points and Kyle Lowry’s 15 points aided the Raptors, who also received 13 points from Patrick McCaw.
Charlotte’s Terry Rozier missed a potential winning 3-point shot at the end. Rozier heated up in the second half and ended up with 27 points, while teammate Miles Bridges had 26. Cody Zeller added 14 points and P.J. Washington had 12.
Utah Jazz 128 – New York Knicks 104
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points, and Emmanuel Mudiay added a season-high 20 off the bench to lead host Utah to a win over New York in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell chipped in 16 points, and four others scored at least 11. Utah won for the 12th time in its last 13 games and notched its seventh straight victory overall.
Frank Ntilikina led New York with 16 points. Elfrid Payton and Bobby Portis finished with 13 points apiece. The Knicks lost all four games on their Western Conference road trip. Utah outscored New York 60-38 in the paint.
–Field Level Media
