Houston Rockets

Rockets beat Pelicans 130-123 for 10th straight win

Published Dec. 12, 2017 5:41 a.m. ET

HOUSTON (AP) Clint Capela scored a career-high 28 points, James Harden had 26 points and 17 assists and the Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 130-123 on Monday night for their 10th straight victory.

The game was tied with about three minutes remaining after Harden made two free throws. Those were the first of seven straight points by Harden that put Houston up 124-119 with 1:30 left.

Jrue Holiday then scored for New Orleans, but Harden responded with a 3-pointer. Harden also made two free throws to make it 129-121 with 34 seconds left.

Holiday had a season-high 37 points for the Pelicans. E'Twaun Moore scored career-high 36 points and made six of New Orleans' franchise-record 18 3-pointers.

BULLS 108, CELTICS 85

CHICAGO (AP) - Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, Bobby Portis added a career-high 23 and Chicago rolled to its third straight win.

The last-place Bulls built an 18-point lead in the second quarter against the Eastern Conference leaders. When Boston cut it to 12 in the fourth, Chicago pulled away for the runaway victory.

The Celtics played without star guard Kyrie Irving, who was sidelined by bruised left quadriceps.

Before Monday night, Mirotic and Portis had only made headlines together this season for the wrong reasons. Mirotic missed the first 23 games with facial fractures he suffered in a fight at practice with Portis.

Al Horford scored 15 points for Boston.

WARRIORS 111, TRAIL BLAZERS 104

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Kevin Durant had 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots, leading short-handed Golden State to the victory.

Golden State played without two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who is nursing a sprained right ankle and missed his third straight game. Draymond Green sat out with a sore right shoulder while starting center Zaza Pachulia was sidelined for his second game in a row because of soreness in his left shoulder.

Damian Lillard scored a season-high 39 points for Portland, which has lost five in a row.

CLIPPERS 96, RAPTORS 91

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Montrezl Harrell scored 17 points, and the Clippers snapped the Raptors' six-game winning streak.

DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers. Their backups outscored Toronto's reserves 50-17, led by Harrell and Lou Williams, who also had 17 points.

Milos Teodosic scored 12 points in his return after missing 22 games with a left foot injury. His 3-pointer with 40 seconds left extended the Clippers' lead to 91-87.

Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Serge Ibaka added 17 points for the Raptors, who led by 13 points in the first half.

HORNETS 116, THUNDER 103

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Dwight Howard scored 23 points, leading Charlotte to the road win.

Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Hornets, who had lost seven of eight. Marvin Williams scored 18, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 17 points.

It was Charlotte's second road win of the season in 12 tries.

Russell Westbrook had 30 points and seven assists and Paul George scored 20 points for the Thunder after missing the previous two games with a right calf contusion.

Charlotte shot 53 percent from the field against one of the league's best defensive teams. The Bobcats made 13 of 25 3-point attempts.

HEAT 107, GRIZZLIES 82

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Goran Dragic scored 19 points, leading the balanced Heat to the victory.

Miami shot 56.1 percent from the field and had seven players score in double figures in its second straight win. Josh Richardson had 17 points, and reserves Tyler Johnson and Bam Adebayo finished with 14 apiece.

Memphis lost for the 15th time in 16 games. Marc Gasol scored 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting and Andrew Harrison had 16.