James Harden scored 34 points, and Trevor Ariza made a huge game-ending defensive play Sunday, as the visiting Houston Rockets held off the LA Clippers 100-98 to spoil Blake Griffin’s return.
The All-Star forward had 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes, after missing 15 games to have surgery for the removal of a staph infection in his right elbow.
The Rockets were clinging to a 100-98 lead after Harden missed his only free throw of the night (17-of-18) on the second of two tosses with 8.7 seconds left, opening the door for the Clippers.
Chris Paul, who scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, got the ball out of a timeout. He drove the right side, but with the long-armed Ariza in his face, overshot the potential game-tying five-foot fade-away baseline jumper as the final horn sounded.
Ariza netted 19 points, Terrence Jones added 16 with 12 rebounds for the Rockets (44-22), who moved 2.5 games ahead of the Clippers for the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Matt Barnes dropped in 19 while league top rebounder DeAndre Jordan grabbed 20 for the Clippers (42-25), who committed 20 turnovers leading to 27 Rockets points.
Elsewhere: San Antonio Spurs 123, Minnesota Timberwolves 97: Kawhi Leonard led eight teammates in double figures with 15 points, and the Spurs (41-24) trounced the visiting T-Wolves (14-51) but lost Argentine ace Manu Ginobili to a right ankle sprain in the third quarter.
Ginobili left the locker room on crutches and is expected to miss a “good week to 10 days,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
– Oklahoma City Thunder 109, Chicago Bulls 100: Russell Westbrook scored eight of his 36 points in the final 1:27 to go along with 11 rebounds and six assists, and the Thunder (37-29) beat the visiting Bulls to move into the eighth playoff spot in the West.
Montenegrin Nikola Mirotic scored 27, Spaniard Pau Gasol added 20 for Chicago (40-28), tied with Toronto for the third playoff spot in the East.
– Denver Nuggets 118, New Orleans Pelican 111: (2 OT) – Will Barton scored 25 points, including a tying triple to force the first overtime, Danilo Gallinari drilled a huge 3-pointer with 90 seconds left in the second extra session, and the visiting Nuggets (26-41) outlasted the Pelicans for a fourth straight win.
Anthony Davis collected 36 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocks and a career-high seven assists but New Orleans (36-30), dropped a game back of Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the West.
– Cleveland Cavaliers 123, Orlando Magic 108: Kyrie Irving scored 33 points, J.R. Smith added 25, while LeBron James had 21 with 13 rebounds and eight assists, carrying the visiting Cavs (43-25) past the Magic (21-47) despite Nik Vucevic’s 22-point, 15-rebound outing.
In other games: the visiting Portland Trail Blazers routed the Toronto Raptors 113-97; the East-best Atlanta Hawks held off the hosting LA Lakers 91-86; and the Phoenix Suns shaded the visiting New York Knicks 102-89.
