NEW YORK (AP) - Kyrie Irving had 31 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame the loss of James Harden to beat the Houston Rockets 120-108 on Wednesday night and move into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Harden sat out the fourth quarter against his former team with right hamstring tightness, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Nets put together the pivotal run without him, scoring 12 straight midway through the final period to turn a six-point deficit into a 107-101 lead, winning a game they trailed by 18 after less than five minutes.
Joe Harris added 28 points for the Nets, who trailed by 18 points less than five minutes in and didn’t lead until the last half-minute of the third quarter. At 33-15, the Nets are a half-game ahead of Philadelphia atop the East.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 20 points for the Rockets. Danuel House Jr. added 18 points and Christian Wood had 14.
BUCKS 12, LAKERS 97
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Andre Drummond left his Lakers debut with a bruised right toe, and Jrue Holiday scored 28 points in Milwaukee’s victory over Los Angeles.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 17 points and eight assists as the Bucks snapped their three-game losing streak with a workmanlike victory over the depleted defending NBA champions, who are still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Drummond scored four points in 14 minutes before limping off the court early in the third quarter. X-rays were negative on Los Angeles’ new center.
Montrezl Harrell scored 19 points and Dennis Schröder added 17 points for the Lakers’ supporting cast, whose two-game winning streak ended.
MAVERICKS 113, CELTICS 108
BOSTON (AP) - Luka Doncic had 36 points and eight rebounds and Dallas held on to beat Boston.
Jalen Brunson added 21 points, including two late free throws, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points to help the Mavericks win their second straight.
Jayson Tatum had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Boston, which has lost its last two. Jaylen Brown added 24 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 124, PISTONS 101
DETROIT (AP) -Damian Lillard had 33 points and nine assists and Portland beat Detroit.
CJ McCollum added 24 points and Carmelo Anthony and Robert Covington each scored 16 in Portland’s fourth straight win.
Jerami Grant scored 30 points for Detroit, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Mason Plumlee added 18 points, but Detroit’s other three starters - Saddiq Bey, Josh Jackson and Saben Lee - combined for two points on 1-for-17 shooting.
HEAT 92, PACERS 87
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler helped Miami rally from a 13-point first-half deficit by spurring a decisive eight-point fourth-quarter run for a win over Indiana.
Robinson finished with 20 points and Butler added 18 as Miami avoided getting swept in the three-game season series with the Pacers. The Heat have won two straight since ending a four-game losing streak.
Indiana was led by Myles Turner with 15 points and 14 points each by Caris LeVert and Doug McDermott. The Pacers have lost two straight overall and seven of their last eight at home.
THUNDER 113, RAPTORS 103
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Svi Mykhailiuk scored 10 of his season-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma City rallied to beat Toronto.
Mykhailiuk made 9 of 14 shots and had a career-high nine rebounds.
Moses Brown had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Roby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Gary Trent Jr. scored a career-high 31 points, and OG Anunoby added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who have dropped 13 of their last 14 games. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry sat out with a right foot infection.
TIMBERWOLVES 102, KNICKS 101
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Anthony Edwards scored 11 of his 24 points over the final eight minutes, leading a fierce rally by Minnesota for a victory over former coach Tom Thibodeau and New York.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Malik Beasley highlighted his 20 points with the go-ahead 3-pointer with 37 seconds left for the Timberwolves.
Julius Randle had 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, who led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter. R.J. Barrett scored 23 points, but his stepback jumper at the buzzer was short for the chance to win.
JAZZ 111, GRIZZLIES 107
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Mike Conley scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jordan Clarkson added 24 points and Utah beat Memphis for its seventh straight victory.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points for Utah, which defeated Memphis for the third time in a week, this time overcoming 36 points from Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.
Kyle Anderson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, and Dillon Brooks finished with 17 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell was not with the Jazz for personal reasons.
SPURS 120, KINGS 106
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and San Antonio snapped Sacramento’s five-game winning streak.
Derrick White added 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and Jakob Poeltl finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio.
De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 16 to lead Sacramento, which had not lost since March 20.
SUNS 121, BULLS 116
PHOENIX (AP) - Devin Booker scored a season-high 45 points, Chris Paul added 19 points and 14 assists, and Phoenix held on to beat Chicago.
Phoenix’s Dario Saric had 16 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers.
Chicago was led by Nikola Vujecic’s 24 points and 10 rebounds. YThaddeus oung added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Denzel Valentine also scored 19 points for the Bulls, who have lost five straight.
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