TORONTO (AP) – James Harden had 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 10th triple-double of the season to help the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 129-122 on Sunday night for their eighth straight NBA victory.
Montrezl Harrell added 28 points on 12-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes, and fellow reserve Eric Gordon had 19 points to help Houston win consecutive road games over the Raptors for the first time.
DeMar DeRozan had 36 points for the Raptors, setting a career high with his 18th 30-plus-point game of the season.
DeMarre Carroll tied a career high with 26 points and set a career high with six 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
Down 99-95 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead. DeRozan’s run of 12 consecutive points for the Raptors cut into that advantage, but Toronto could get no closer than five points.
CLIPPERS 98, HEAT 86
J.J. Redick scored 25 points as Los Angeles beat Miami for its fourth straight victory.
Chris Paul had 19 points, 18 assists and one turnover, and DeAndre Jordan added 18 rebounds to help keep the Clippers unbeaten in the new year after they closed 2016 on a six-game skid.
Goran Dragic scored 24 points, and Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Miami. The Heat shot 37 percent and had three technical fouls.
The Clippers broke it open with a 43-21 run that spanned the second and third quarters. Redick scored 14 points and Paul added 12 as they stretched the lead from one point to 23 points. Redick hit three 3-pointers and Paul added another.
76ERS 105, NETS 95
Joel Embiid scored 20 points and Philadelphia reached 10 victories to match its total from all last season, beating Brooklyn.
The 76ers broke it open with a 17-2 surge in the fourth quarter to win the matchup between the NBA’s two worst teams and improve to 10-25 in their first season with former lottery picks Embiid and Dario Saric. They were 10-72 in 2015-16, just off their own record for worst finish in the 82-game schedule.
Embiid did his damage without even reaching the 28-minute restriction he was limited to as he recovers from a series of foot injuries that delayed his NBA debut for two years.
Brook Lopez scored 26 points For the Nets, who have lost six in a row to fall to 8-28.
WIZARDS 107, BUCKS 101
Bwradley Beal scored 26 points and Markieff Morris added 20 points and 10 rebounds to help Washington beat Milwaukee.
Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 28 points. Malcolm Brogdon added a career-high 22 points, and Michael Beasley scored 18 points in 16 minutes. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ill and didn’t play.