NBA Round Up: Harden continues scoring form, Rockets top Raptors in Houston
The Houston Rockets are still rolling in the NBA, beating the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
It is no secret Houston have been undermanned because of injuries, but they managed a 121-119 win against Toronto.
James Harden continued his impressive scoring streak, totalling 35 points. This marked his 22nd consecutive game with at least 30 points.
Kenneth Faried was recently signed by the Rockets after the Brooklyn Nets bought out his contract. The undersized forward recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds on eight-of-11 shooting in his third game with the Rockets and came up big in the clutch.
Kawhi Leonard returned to the Raptors after resting for four games and put up 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists. A bizarre series of events gave him a chance to hit the game-winner, but he airballed the last shot when challenged by Harden on the right wing.
Houston improved to 28-20 while Toronto dropped to 36-15.
@JHarden13 (35 PTS, 7 AST) & @TheofficialEG10 (24 PTS) fuel the @HoustonRockets win vs. Toronto! #Rockets pic.twitter.com/F09N9fM6nI
— NBA (@NBA) January 26, 2019
Osman shines but Cavs lose
Cedi Osman scored a career-high 29 points for the Cavaliers, but Cleveland lost to the Miami Heat 100-94.
Lou Williams recorded a triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Chicago Bulls 106-101.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 14 rebounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 108-99 win against the Charlotte Hornets.
Fournier fails
Evan Fournier scored two points on one-of-10 shooting in the Orlando Magic’s 95-91 loss to the Washington Wizards.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had 10 points on just two-of-14 shooting as the New York Knicks fell short to the Nets 109-99 in Brooklyn.
Okogie with a huge dunk
Josh Okogie had no fear when he slammed one home on Rudy Gobert as the Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Utah Jazz 106-102.
JOSH OKOGIE PUNISHES THE RIM! #AllEyesNorth
: https://t.co/Bq24jKOTFm pic.twitter.com/KHIucCDF31
— NBA (@NBA) January 26, 2019
Dennis Smith Jr. and DeAndre Jordan made a lob and dunk look easy on the break in the Dallas Mavericks’ 106-101 win over the Detroit Pistons.
DeAndre runs the floor for the two-hand FLUSH! #MFFL 70#DetroitBasketball 70
: https://t.co/Bq24jKOTFm pic.twitter.com/apJBra6ziO
— NBA (@NBA) January 26, 2019
Friday’s results
Washington Wizards 95-91 Orlando Magic
Brooklyn Nets 109-99 New York Knicks
Miami Heat 100-94 Cleveland Cavaliers
Los Angeles Clippers 106-101 Chicago Bulls
Houston Rockets 121-119 Toronto Raptors
Sacramento Kings 99-96 Memphis Grizzlies
Dallas Mavericks 106-101 Detroit Pistons
Milwaukee Bucks 108-99 Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets 132-95 Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz 106-102 Minnesota Timberwolves
Warriors at Celtics
Golden State have been the favourites to win the NBA Finals for some years now. After an impressive showing last season, Boston were favoured to win the Eastern Conference in 2018-19. These two contenders will both have plenty of star power when they battle in TD Garden on Saturday.
