James Harden recorded his 19th 40-point game this season, and the Houston Rockets snapped a two-game slide with a 125-98 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday at Salt Lake City. Harden stuffed the stat sheet with 43 points, 12 rebounds, six steals, five assists and four blocks. He finished 15 of 15 at the free-throw line and essentially carried the Rockets to their second win in four meetings with Utah this season while extending his streak of consecutive 30-point games to 26. Kenneth Faried added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Gerald Green (25 points) and Austin Rivers (16) combined for 41 points on 10-of-18 3-point shooting off the bench. The Rockets played without guard Chris Paul, who rested in the second game of a back-to-back. Donovan Mitchell tallied 26 points on 7-of-24 shooting for Utah, which had won 10 of 12. Four others scored in double figures, but the Jazz mustered only 36 percent shooting against the Rockets' scuffling defense. Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 13 boards. Derrick Favors blocked five shots. Nuggets 107, Timberwolves 106 Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season, and Denver held on to beat Minnesota at Minneapolis. Malik Beasley scored 22 points, Will Barton finished with 20 points and Monte Morris had 17 points and 10 assists for Denver, which has won six straight. The result allowed Nuggets coach Michael Malone to clinch the job as the coach of Team LeBron in the All-Star Game. Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Jerryd Bayless had 15 points and 10 assists for Minnesota. Mavericks 111, Cavaliers 98 Rookie Luka Doncic scored 35 points, including 18 in the first quarter, to lead short-handed Dallas to a road win over Cleveland. Doncic grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists. Dallas dressed only 11 players after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks in a seven-player trade on Thursday. Jordan Clarkson led the Cavaliers with 19 points off the bench. Dallas outscored Cleveland 48-12 from 3-point range. Warriors 115, Lakers 101 Andre Iguodala ignited a fourth-quarter runaway with consecutive 3-pointers as Golden State broke open a tight game to beat LeBron James-less Los Angeles at Oakland, Calif. James was a late scratch after being unable to shake general body soreness that resulted from a 40-minute return to the Lakers' lineup Thursday after having missed 17 consecutive games with a groin injury. The soreness is not considered an aggravation of the groin injury, Lakers coach Luke Walton announced before the game. Klay Thompson led Golden State with 28 points while Kevin Durant (21 points, 11 assists) and DeMarcus Cousins (18 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles. Spurs 113, Pelicans 108 LaMarcus Aldridge led a balanced scoring attack with 25 points, and host San Antonio withstood a remarkable comeback attempt by New Orleans. Aldridge was joined in double figures by Marco Belinelli (17), Rudy Gay (17), DeMar DeRozan (13), Bryn Forbes (12) and Patty Mills (12) as the Spurs won their fifth in a row and completed a sweep of a four-game homestand. Frank Jackson scored 25, Jrue Holiday and Ian Clark added 15 each, Cheick Diallo had 13, Kenrich Williams had 12 and Darius Miller 11 to lead the Pelicans, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Clippers 111, Pistons 101 Lou Williams came off the bench to score 39 points and dish out nine assists as Los Angeles rallied from a 25-point deficit to stun host Detroit. Williams scored 26 points in the second half, when the Clippers outscored the Pistons 64-36. Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 29 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists against his former team. Bucks 131, Wizards 115 Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 10 rebounds, and visiting Milwaukee defeated Washington for its third straight win. Kings 115, 76ers 108 Buddy Hield capped a 34-point performance with a pair of late 3-pointers, enabling Sacramento to out-finish visiting Philadelphia in a back-and-forth affair. Hornets 125, Bulls 118 Kemba Walker erupted for 37 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Charlotte dominated the fourth quarter in a win over visiting Chicago. Magic 102, Nets 89 A big third quarter helped Orlando top visiting Brooklyn. Six players scored in double figures for Orlando, led by Nikola Vucevic, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Pacers 95, Heat 88 Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 31 points to lead Indiana past host Miami, Darren Collison had 20 points, and Myles Turner added 14 points as the Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak. Hawks 118, Suns 112 John Collins scored 35 points, and Trae Young scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help visiting Atlanta down Phoenix. — Reuters
