Rockets beat Nuggets 110-104 to secure 3rd seed in West

By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) After missing his first game of the season on Sunday because he had the flu, James Harden was thrilled to not only be back on the court on Wednesday, but to be feeling like himself again.

Harden scored 31 points and the Houston Rockets squandered a big early lead, but held on to outlast the Denver Nuggets for a 110-104 win that secured the third seed in the Western Conference.

"I can walk and talk now," he said. "I was on bed rest for a couple of days just because I couldn't really talk, couldn't move. I had the shakes. But I'm back. So I'm good."

Though the Rockets have been in third place in the West for the majority of the season, they were excited to know for sure that they'd have that spot in the postseason.

"It's good," Harden said. "We've got the third-best record in the league right now. So we just want to close out the season the right way ... and just get some momentum going into the postseason. That's the most important thing."

The Nuggets cut the lead to two points on a layup by Nikola Jokic with 1:20 remaining. A 3-pointer by Harden a few seconds later pushed the lead to 106-101 and brought the crowd, which included rapper Travis Scott, to its feet.

Harden added two free throws after that for the last of 15 straight points he scored for Houston in the second half of the fourth quarter. Along with being over the flu, the time off gave Harden's sore left wrist a chance to get better.

"He was shooting the ball better and he's just more fluid with his wrist," coach Mike D'Antoni said.

The Nuggets got a dunk from Danilo Gallinari next to cut the lead to four, but Eric Gordon added a pair of free throws to secure the win.

The victory improves Houston to 4-0 against the Nuggets this season after the Rockets lost all three games to Denver last season.

Gallinari had 23 points for the Nuggets, who are in ninth place and are fighting for the last playoff spot in the West.

"We still have our chances and we have to keep fighting and playing as we have four games left," Gallinari said. "We have to get them all."

Houston led by six entering the fourth quarter and remained up by that many before the Nuggets scored four quick points to cut the lead a basket with about nine minutes left.

The Nuggets cut the lead to two points after a layup by Wilson Chandler midway through the quarter. Houston then used a 5-2 spurt, with all of the points by Harden, to extend its advantage to 98-93 with about five minutes left.

Denver trailed by nine early in the third quarter before using an 18-7 run to take a 73-71 lead with just under five minutes in the quarter. Garry Harris, Kenneth Faried and Jameer Nelson had six points each in that span to fuel the run.

A layup by Harris soon after that left the Nuggets up by one before the Rockets scored seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Harden to go on top 83-77 with about 90 seconds left in the quarter.

Emmanuel Mudiay added a layup for the Nuggets after that before Houston's Troy Williams ended the third quarter with a put-back dunk to leave the Rockets up 85-79 entering the fourth quarter.

The Rockets led by as many as 17 in the first half and were up 59-50 at halftime.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Nelson returned after missing the last two games with a sprained right calf. He had eight points in 32 minutes. ... Harris finished with 17 points. ... The Nuggets made just 7 of 38 3-point attempts. ... Chandler had 16 points off the bench.

Rockets: Ryan Anderson could return on Friday after sitting out since spraining his right ankle on March 24. D'Antoni said if Anderson can practice on Thursday without pain, then he'll play Friday, but that he could have to sit out a few more days. ... Harden had 10 assists for his league-leading 61st double-double. ... Nene had 16 points.

MCGRADY HONORED

The Rockets honored Tracy McGrady as part of their 50th anniversary celebration on Wednesday night. McGrady, who was elected to the Hall of Fame this week, spent 5 1/2 seasons with the Rockets. As part of the celebration, the Rockets handed out a "13 in 35" bobblehead to commemorate the time he scored 13 points in 35 seconds to beat the Spurs 81-80 on Dec. 9, 2004.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Host New Orleans on Friday.

Rockets: Host Detroit on Friday.

Russell scores 28, Lakers finally win in Phoenix 122-110

By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers stopped their desert drought with one satisfying performance.

D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Lakers earned their first win in Phoenix in six years with a 122-110 victory over the Suns on Thursday night.

Jordan Clarkson added 19 for the Lakers, who snapped an eight-game losing streak. Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac scored 14 points apiece.

It was Los Angeles' first win in Phoenix since Jan. 5, 2011. The Lakers had lost 11 straight road games against the Suns, including a 137-101 laugher in their previous game in Phoenix on Feb. 15, the most one-sided Suns win in the series' history.

"They whupped us pretty bad before the All-Star break," Clarkson said, "so we wanted to get this win and we came out and competed. We came together, moved the ball."

The Lakers took the lead to start the second half and were up by as many as 21 Thursday night. A late Phoenix run made it a seven-point game before Los Angeles scored the final five points.

"I think the Lakers felt like they had something to prove after the last game we played," the Suns' Devin Booker said. "They came out and showed that. We didn't have any fight tonight."

Booker scored 23 for Phoenix. Marquese Chriss added 18, and T.J. Warren finished with 17 points.

Los Angeles outscored Phoenix 21-8 to start the second half. It opened an 82-71 lead on Ingram's dunk off a pass from Russell with 4:10 left in the third.

Julius Randle's 3-pointer gave the Lakers their biggest lead at 116-95 with 4:53 to play. The Suns put together a 15-1 spurt to cut it to 117-110 on Booker's cutting layup through traffic, but there was just 51.2 seconds to play.

Russell ended any doubt with his final 3, making it 120-110 with 32.5 seconds remaining.

"There was definitely a focus at shoot-around today," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "It was pretty obvious and we talked about it as a group, that they looked locked in. I was expecting the guys to come out and give the effort that they did, honestly."

The Suns trailed most of the first half, going 4:26 without a point in a 10-0 Lakers run, before Booker scored seven in a 14-2 surge that put Phoenix up 63-59 with 40.6 seconds to play. Clarkson's layup at the buzzer cut the Suns' lead to 63-61 at the break.

Phoenix won the first three games of a season-long five-game homestand, but lost the last two.

"It's really disappointing," Booker said. "We've beaten top teams, competed with thee top teams in the league. Every team's talented, but they (the Lakers) are one of the losing teams like us and we should have just come out here and competed hard."

Phoenix coach Earl Watson said the Lakers "did a good job of just being the toughest team on the court from beginning to end."

TIP-INS

Lakers: The game featured the NBA's two youngest coaches - Watson (37) and Walton (36). ... Randle finished with 13 points. He was coming off his third triple double of the season. ... The eight-game losing streak had matched the Lakers' longest of the season.

Suns: The NBA fined Jared Dudley $35,000 for head-butting Washington's Jason Smith on Tuesday night. ... Alan Williams had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double off the bench.

UP NEXT

Lakers: Return home to face Philadelphia on Sunday night, a matchup of two teams in the bottom four in the NBA.

Suns: Visit Dallas on Saturday night before returning for three more at home.