James Harden was seemingly shut down in the first half of Friday night's game, held to 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting, which put his 30-point streak in jeopardy. Although, there was nothing to worry about, as he finished with 35 points in the Houston Rockets' 121-119 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Toyota Center. Harden's performance extends his streak to 22 straight games with at least 30 points, and he got plenty of help from the Rockets' latest addition. Kenneth Faried had 21 points and a season-high 14 rebounds just three games after getting released by the Brooklyn Nets. He was quickly picked up off waivers by Houston, who traded away Carmelo Anthony to make room on their roster for Faried, which is clearly paying off for them with Clint Capela still injured.
The Rockets never trailed on this night, despite Harden's tough start after putting up a franchise-record 61 points at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The All-Star starter's 22-game streak of at least 30 points moves him past Michael Jordan for the second-longest such streak in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain holds the longest such streak at 40 games in a row. Harden had averaged 52.2 points over his previous five games coming in to play, but was well below that on this night. Despite Harden not taking over until late, the Rockets still led by eight at halftime.
The Rockets led by as many as 11 points on the night, as Eric Gordon chipped in 24 points, P.J. Tucker had 18, and Austin Rivers finished with 13 points. The Raptors got three straight three-pointers in the fourth quarter to make things interesting down the stretch, but Kawhi Leonard missed on a three-point try over Harden to seal their defeat. The Rockets will stay at home to host the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, while the Raptors will visit the Dallas Mavericks that same night.
Another hot streak is coming from the Brooklyn Nets, who are all of a sudden a playoff threat at this point in the season. They stayed hot on Friday night with a 109-99 win over their in-state rivals and the lowly New York Knicks. They were playing without Spencer Dinwiddie, so the likes of Theo Pinson, Ed Davis, and Shabazz Napier led the way off the bench in the Nets' sixth straight win. Pinson led the Nets with 19 points, while Napier finished with 18, and Davis had 17, all of which came off the bench. De'Angelo Russell was shut down and held to 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting to lead all starters, but Brooklyn maintained their sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets had four players off the bench finish in double figures, as they went on to out-rebound the Knicks, 59-33, by taking advantage of New York starting center, Enes Kanter, sitting out. Trey Burke led the Knicks with 25 points, while Noah Vonleh posted a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Although, New York holds the longest active losing streak in the NBA at eight in a row, as they have lost 21 of their previous 23 games overall.
The Nets were also able to shut down Tim Hardaway Jr. defensively, holding the former Michigan Wolverine to 2-for-14 shooting. Brooklyn has now won 19 of their past 24 games, giving them a 27-23 record through 50 games which is their best record at this point since going 29-21 in the 2012-2013 season. They are already just one win away from matching their total from all of last season. They can tie that mark on Monday night when they visit the Boston Celtics. The Knicks will look to snap their skid on Sunday against the Miami Heat.
The Rockets never trailed on this night, despite Harden's tough start after putting up a franchise-record 61 points at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The All-Star starter's 22-game streak of at least 30 points moves him past Michael Jordan for the second-longest such streak in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain holds the longest such streak at 40 games in a row. Harden had averaged 52.2 points over his previous five games coming in to play, but was well below that on this night. Despite Harden not taking over until late, the Rockets still led by eight at halftime.
The Rockets led by as many as 11 points on the night, as Eric Gordon chipped in 24 points, P.J. Tucker had 18, and Austin Rivers finished with 13 points. The Raptors got three straight three-pointers in the fourth quarter to make things interesting down the stretch, but Kawhi Leonard missed on a three-point try over Harden to seal their defeat. The Rockets will stay at home to host the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, while the Raptors will visit the Dallas Mavericks that same night.
Another hot streak is coming from the Brooklyn Nets, who are all of a sudden a playoff threat at this point in the season. They stayed hot on Friday night with a 109-99 win over their in-state rivals and the lowly New York Knicks. They were playing without Spencer Dinwiddie, so the likes of Theo Pinson, Ed Davis, and Shabazz Napier led the way off the bench in the Nets' sixth straight win. Pinson led the Nets with 19 points, while Napier finished with 18, and Davis had 17, all of which came off the bench. De'Angelo Russell was shut down and held to 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting to lead all starters, but Brooklyn maintained their sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets had four players off the bench finish in double figures, as they went on to out-rebound the Knicks, 59-33, by taking advantage of New York starting center, Enes Kanter, sitting out. Trey Burke led the Knicks with 25 points, while Noah Vonleh posted a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Although, New York holds the longest active losing streak in the NBA at eight in a row, as they have lost 21 of their previous 23 games overall.
The Nets were also able to shut down Tim Hardaway Jr. defensively, holding the former Michigan Wolverine to 2-for-14 shooting. Brooklyn has now won 19 of their past 24 games, giving them a 27-23 record through 50 games which is their best record at this point since going 29-21 in the 2012-2013 season. They are already just one win away from matching their total from all of last season. They can tie that mark on Monday night when they visit the Boston Celtics. The Knicks will look to snap their skid on Sunday against the Miami Heat.
