Wizards overcome Rockets, Harden in overtime

John Wall had 36 points and 11 assists, Bradley Beal added 32 points, and the Washington Wizards rallied from an early 17-point deficit to defeat the visiting Houston Rockets 135-131 in overtime Monday.

The Wizards overcame a season-high 54 points from Rockets guard James Harden.

Washington started the overtime with an 8-1 run capped when Otto Porter Jr. picked up a steal and fed Beal for a dunk with 1:50 left, and the Rockets got no closer than within three points the rest of the way.

Houston shot 2 of 7 in overtime with four turnovers.

Harden missed three consecutive shots and turned the ball over twice in the final minutes of regulation, but fed Clint Capela for an alley-oop that tied it, 125-125, with 9.8 seconds left. Wall had the ball knocked away on a jumper attempt with 1.2 seconds left, and he then blocked Eric Gordon’s jumper at the buzzer.

Markief Morris had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Wizards’ bench outscored the Rockets’ reserves 45-9.

Gordon scored 36 points, and Capela had 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for Houston, which has lost three games in a row.

Harden had 11 assists, eight rebounds and 13 turnovers in 47 minutes.

The Rockets were without guard Chris Paul (strained hamstring) for a second consecutive game. Backup guard Gerald Green (sore right ankle) was also out.

Washington centre Dwight Howard (gluteal soreness) remains out.

Harden scored 21 points in the third quarter as the Rockets went on an 18-4 run late in the period to take an eight-point lead that was trimmed to four by the end of the frame.

The Rockets jumped out to a 17-point, first-quarter lead behind Gordon and Harden, who combined for 25 points in the period. A 15-4 run pulled Washington within 34-28, but the Rockets pushed their lead to 42-30 by the end of the quarter as they hit seven 3-pointers.

It was the third time this season that the Wizards gave up 40 or more points in a quarter.

The Wizards rallied again in the second quarter, and they led 67-65 at intermission.

Warriors 116, Magic 110

Kevin Durant scored eight of his 49 points in the final 1:19, rallying Golden State to a victory over Orlando in Oakland, California.

Durant connected on 16 of his 33 shots, four of his 10 3-point attempts and all 13 of his free throws en route to the fifth-highest scoring game of his career. The total of 49 points was his high since he poured in 51 for Oklahoma City at Toronto in March 2014.

The Warriors trailed by as many as 18 points before chipping away in the third and fourth quarters, finally taking a 102-100 lead on a 3-pointer by Klay Thompson with 5:26 to go. After Orlando gathered themselves to go back up by three, another 3-pointer by Thompson drew the Warriors even at 107-all with 1:45 left before Durant took over.

Hornets 110, Bucks 107

Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points each, and host Charlotte held on for perhaps their most impressive win of the season by defeating Milwaukee.

The Hornets trailed by 14 midway through the first quarter, but they dominated the second quarter, led by 13 at halftime, and then pushed the margin to as many as 25 points in the second half.

 The Bucks got within a point in the final minute and trailed by three with the ball with 7.1 seconds remaining, but Eric Bledsoe missed the potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak and got some revenge after losing 113-112 to the Bucks on opening night, October 17, in Charlotte. The Hornets have not lost more than two straight this season. The Bucks have lost two of their past three.

Spurs 108, Bulls 107

DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 — including five in a key late-game stretch — as visiting San Antonio came back to beat short-handed Chicago.

The Bulls led 101-98 with 5:58 to play before the Spurs leapfrogged to the front via a 10-0 run, with Aldridge accounting for half the points. Chicago pulled within 108-107 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Ryan Arcidiacono, but Zach LaVine (28 points) missed a 3-pointer with four seconds to play.

After a foul and a steal in a last-gasp scramble, Arcidiacono (22 points) had a chance to win the game with a shot at the buzzer, but it was off the rim short.

Pacers 121, Jazz 88

Doug McDermott scored a season-high 21 points off the bench while Myles Turner added 16 points in his first game back from an ankle injury to lift Indiana to a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.

Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 15 points and Tyreke Evans added 14 for Indiana, who had seven players score in double figures. 

Derrick Favours scored 13 points and Rudy Gobert added 12 to lead Utah. 

The Jazz, who allowed Indiana to shoot 58.3 per cent from the field, lost for the sixth time in eight games.

Both teams played without their leading scorers. Utah’s Donovan Mitchell sat out a second straight game due to a rib contusion. Indiana’s Victor Oladipo was sidelined with a right sore knee for a fourth consecutive game.

Celtics 124, Pelicans 107

Kyrie Irving had 26 points and 10 assists as Boston won at New Orleans in a matchup of struggling teams.

Al Horford and Jayson Tatum added 20 points each, Marcus Morris had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Terry Rozier came off the bench to score 14 for the Celtics, who won for the second time in three games, but that followed a three-game losing streak.

Anthony Davis, returning from a one-game absence caused by a hip injury, had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead New Orleans. The Pelicans lost their fourth straight, but it was just their second loss in 10 home games. Nikola Mirotic added 25 points.

Timberwolves 102, Cavaliers 95

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota to a win at Cleveland.

Robert Covington scored 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 accuracy from 3-point range. Derrick Rose came off the bench and continued to shoot well, hitting 6 of 13 and finishing with 12 points and four assists for Minnesota, which is 6-2 since trading away All-Star guard Jimmy Butler.

Kyle Korver led the Cavaliers with 22 points off the bench. Rodney Hood added 20 points for Cleveland, and Tristan Thompson recorded his fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.