HOUSTON (AP) – Chris Paul wasn’t thrilled with how the Houston Rockets played Monday night.
The veteran was perfectly happy with the outcome though.
James Harden scored 28 points and the Rockets overcame a big early deficit to beat the Miami Heat, 99-90.
“You have those games during the season where (you) win the game and move on … out of 82 of them sometimes it’s going to be ugly, but you just want to win,” Paul said.
Miami led by double digits before halftime, but the game stayed close throughout most of the second half. It was tied with about three minutes left when Harden hit a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired. That was the start of a 7-2 run that made it 95-90 with 38 seconds left.
James Johnson missed a 3-pointer on the other end, but Miami’s Hassan Whiteside grabbed the rebound. Harden blocked his layup, and Houston added a dunk by Clint Capela with 18 seconds left.
Whiteside led the Heat with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The team was missing Goran Dragic for the second straight game because of a bruised left knee.
HISTORIC TRIPLE-DOUBLE
In New Orleans, DeMarcus Cousins had 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists, Anthony Davis scored 34 points, and the All-Star pair led a 17-point New Orleans comeback in the final five minutes of regulation before the Pelicans pulled out a 132-128 victory over the Chicago Bulls in double overtime Monday night.
Cousins scored seven points in the second overtime on a 3-pointer, a turnaround jumper and two free throws with 8.2 seconds left. He became the first NBA player since Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972 to have as many as 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
E’Twaun Moore scored 15 points, including a 3 in the second overtime to help the Pelicans win for the fifth time in six games.