FRED VanVleet scored a game-high 38 points and Dillon Brooks nailed a midrange jumper to beat the shot clock and give Houston the lead for good as the host Rockets eked out a 119-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday (Monday in Manila) in a matchup between the top two seeds in the Western Conference.
VanVleet sank four free throws in the final 4.6 seconds as the Rockets squared the season series at a game apiece and closed to within a half-game of the Thunder atop the West. Brooks’ jumper with 33.6 seconds left followed a wild scramble and gave the Rockets a 115-113 lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 32 points while Jalen Williams added 22 points, including a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left that sliced the deficit to one. Isaiah Hartenstein added a double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds) while Cason Wallace tallied 14 points, including two 3-pointers to match 3s from VanVleet down the hectic waning moments.
The fourth quarter featured seven ties but the Rockets, who trailed 93-85 late in the third after Gilgeous-Alexander led a 16-4 run, didn’t take their first lead in the fourth until VanVleet hit a buzzer-beating 3 with 1:29 left.
Alperen Sengun (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Jabari Smith Jr. (15 points, 14 rebounds) registered double-doubles for Houston. Sengun added nine assists.
In other games, it was the Spurs 127, Kings 125; Clippers 126, Nuggets 122; Lakers 105, Jazz 104; Mavs 137, Blazers 131; Grizzlies 136, Pacers 121; Magic 100, Nets 92; and Raptors 119, Heat 116.
Spurs 127, Kings 125
Devin Vassell and Chris Paul combined for three 3-pointers down the stretch, Victor Wembanyama posted the third triple-double of his budding career and San Antonio came on late for a win over host Sacramento.
Wembanyama finished with game highs of 34 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Vassell finished with 21 points, Julian Champagnie had 19, Keldon Johnson supplied 17 and Paul chipped in 13 to go along with 10 assists for the Spurs, who won for the fifth time in their past six games.
Domantas Sabonis used 10 offensive boards as the foundation for a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double for Sacramento, which lost for the sixth time in its past seven games. DeRozan paced the Kings with 28 points to go along with eight assists and three steals, while De’Aaron Fox had 23 points and nine assists, Malik Monk totaled 19 points and Isaac Jones posted 12.
Clippers 126, Nuggets 122
James Harden had 39 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles to a win over Denver in Inglewood, Calif.
Harden hit six 3-pointers for the game and played all 24 minutes of the second half while Norman Powell flourished in his first game back after missing the past six due to a hamstring injury. Powell hit five treys and finished with 28 points in 25 minutes of action. The win was the Clippers’ eighth in a row at home, soured slightly by an injury to Amir Coffey, who had 13 points before limping off the court after knocking knees with teammate Ivica Zubac about midway through the third quarter.
Nikola Jokic posted 28 points, 14 boards and 11 assists to move into a tie for third place on the all-time triple-doubles list. It was Jokic’s eighth triple-double of the season and the 138th of his career, drawing him level with Magic Johnson in the record books.
