James Harden recorded his first triple-double of the season and dropped 44 points as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 118-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in Houston.
Harden posted 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and intermittently carried the Rockets when things went awry.
Clint Capela won the matchup of talented bigs, adding 30 points and 14 rebounds to outpace 76ers center Joel Embiid (20 points, 12 boards) and help send Philadelphia to its fourth consecutive defeat since a Christmas Day blistering of the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
Harden was spectacular throughout, converting 6 of 12 three-pointers while finishing 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.
When the 76ers mounted one last desperate push with just under three minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to 108-102 on a Ben Simmons layup, Harden responded with back-to-back threes to snuff that rally. It marked the first triple-double on the season for Harden.
Simmons tallied a triple-double for the 76ers with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and added four blocked shots and three steals. Tobias Harris added 24 points but Philadelphia shot just 6-of-27 from behind the arc and suffered multiple breakdowns attempting to defend Harden.
Anthony Davis scored 46 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-113 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Davis, who scored 41 points in the Lakers’ win over the Pelicans in their initial meeting on November 27, hit 15 of 21 shots and made all 13 of his free throws as the Lakers won their fourth consecutive game.
Danny Green, who made 6 of 10 three-pointers for the game, had 20 of his 25 points in the first half, and LeBron James finished with 17 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles.
