ROCKETS 135,
WARRIORS 134
OAKLAND, Calif. -- James Harden hit
a contested 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in overtime and finished with his
second triple-double of the week and fifth straight 40-point game, rallying
the Houston
Rockets past the Golden State
Warriors 135-134 in a thriller between Western Conference
powers Thursday night for their sixth straight victory.
Kevin Durant's
long 3-pointer missed as the buzzer sounded in what will go down as one of the
best games this regular season -- a rematch of the seven-game Western
Conference finals won by two-time defending champion Golden State.
Stephen Curry put
the Warriors ahead with 23.1 seconds remaining in OT on the way to 35 points --
a basket that shouldn't have counted because Durant was clearly out of bounds
when he flung the ball back in.
Harden, however, had one more acrobatic moment still in him.
He released the ball with at least four hands in his face for the game-winner.
The reigning MVP finished with 44 points, 15 assists and 10
rebounds, while Clint Capelacontributed
29 points and 21 rebounds for Houston.
Harden also hit 3-pointers at the 3:52 and 2:02 marks of OT
in a game featuring dazzling displays on both ends by some of the game's
biggest stars.
SPURS 125, RAPTORS 107
SAN ANTONIO -- DeMar DeRozan had
his first career triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, and
San Antonio welcomed back Kawhi Leonard with
thunderous jeers in a victory over Toronto.
Leonard scored 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, but the anger
the Spurs' fans showered on him seemed to impact the MVP candidate. Leonard had
to take a step back at the free throw line and compose himself amid chants of
"Traitor! Traitor!" and "Quitter! Quitter!" from the
capacity crowd that adored him during his seven seasons in San Antonio.
Leonard forced his way out of San Antonio in a trade that
yielded DeRozan and Jakob Poeltlfrom
Toronto for Leonard and Danny Green.
Leonard was booed heavily from the moment he walked onto the
court for warmup. The boos continued during a pregame video tribute and player
introductions, whenever he touched the ball and as he walked off the court
following the lopsided loss.
DeRozan and the Spurs dominated the battle of former
teammates, leading by as many as 28 points in snapping the Raptors' three-game
winning streak. LaMarcus
Aldridge scored 23 points for San Antonio, Bryn Forbes added
20, Derrick White 19
and Rudy Gay 13.
NUGGETS 117, KINGS 113
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Jamal Murray scored
17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and Denver beat Sacramento for its
fourth straight win.
Nikola Jokic had
26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Nuggets maintained their lead atop the
Western Conference by winning for the eighth time in 10 games. Mason Plumlee added
12 points and 10 rebounds.
Buddy Hield had
29 points to lead the Kings, who have lost three straight.
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