Harden's Triple-Double Not Enough in Rockets' Loss
James Harden went off for his 13th triple-double of the season on Tuesday night, but Houston's defense did not do enough to let that be enough. Goran Dragic had 21 points and eight assists, while Wayne Ellington added 18 points off the bench in the Miami Heat's 109-103 upset of the Houston Rockets. Miami did trail by one in the fourth quarter, but then went on a 20-5 run to pull away for the win. Dion Waiters had 17 points, Tyler Johnson scored 16, and James Johnson contributed 15 in the big win. Harden finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, shooting 12 of 30 from the field. Hassan Whiteside did what he does for Miami, with a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds. It was a close contest throughout, as the game saw 15 ties and 19 lead changes.
Clippers Lose CP3 for 6-8 Weeks
The Los Angeles Clippers got off to a red hot start to their season, but has since dealt with hampering injuries to big-named stars. The latest victim is once again Chris Paul, who will miss six to eight weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb. The injury occurred on a tough screen by Joffrey Lauvergne during the second quarter of Monday's win over the Thunder. Paul would not return after that, and will now undergo surgery on Wednesday. The point guard did suffer a similar injury in 2012, undergoing a procedure for a torn ligament in his right thumb back then. More recently, he broke his right hand in Game 4 of the first round of the 2016 Playoffs. As mentioned earlier, the Clippers have fought off injuries all season long, including Blake Griffin, who has missed 13 games, and J.J. Reddick missed two games in the last week. Paul has already missed seven games himself this year due to a strained left hamstring.
Blue Jays Bringing Back Bautista
After losing one slugger in Edwin Encarnacion to the Cleveland Indians, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to retain another big bat in Jose Bautista on Tuesday. The two sides agreed to a one-year contract, which includes mutual options for 2018 and 2019. If they exercise both of those options, it could turn in to a three-year, $60 million deal. The 36-year-old rejected the team's $17 million qualifying offer after the season, but was not drawing much interest in free agency. The six-time All-Star averaged 38 home runs and 97 RBIs per season from 2010 to 2015, but hit just 22 big flies with 69 runs batted this past year. With 265 career home runs, Bautista is second on Toronto's all-time home run list, behind only Carlos Delgado.
James Harden went off for his 13th triple-double of the season on Tuesday night, but Houston's defense did not do enough to let that be enough. Goran Dragic had 21 points and eight assists, while Wayne Ellington added 18 points off the bench in the Miami Heat's 109-103 upset of the Houston Rockets. Miami did trail by one in the fourth quarter, but then went on a 20-5 run to pull away for the win. Dion Waiters had 17 points, Tyler Johnson scored 16, and James Johnson contributed 15 in the big win. Harden finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, shooting 12 of 30 from the field. Hassan Whiteside did what he does for Miami, with a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds. It was a close contest throughout, as the game saw 15 ties and 19 lead changes.
Clippers Lose CP3 for 6-8 Weeks
The Los Angeles Clippers got off to a red hot start to their season, but has since dealt with hampering injuries to big-named stars. The latest victim is once again Chris Paul, who will miss six to eight weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb. The injury occurred on a tough screen by Joffrey Lauvergne during the second quarter of Monday's win over the Thunder. Paul would not return after that, and will now undergo surgery on Wednesday. The point guard did suffer a similar injury in 2012, undergoing a procedure for a torn ligament in his right thumb back then. More recently, he broke his right hand in Game 4 of the first round of the 2016 Playoffs. As mentioned earlier, the Clippers have fought off injuries all season long, including Blake Griffin, who has missed 13 games, and J.J. Reddick missed two games in the last week. Paul has already missed seven games himself this year due to a strained left hamstring.
Blue Jays Bringing Back Bautista
After losing one slugger in Edwin Encarnacion to the Cleveland Indians, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to retain another big bat in Jose Bautista on Tuesday. The two sides agreed to a one-year contract, which includes mutual options for 2018 and 2019. If they exercise both of those options, it could turn in to a three-year, $60 million deal. The 36-year-old rejected the team's $17 million qualifying offer after the season, but was not drawing much interest in free agency. The six-time All-Star averaged 38 home runs and 97 RBIs per season from 2010 to 2015, but hit just 22 big flies with 69 runs batted this past year. With 265 career home runs, Bautista is second on Toronto's all-time home run list, behind only Carlos Delgado.
