UNDATED (AP) — James Harden returned to the court and helped the Brooklyn Nets stay in the hunt for a possible No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
Harden provided 18 points and 11 assists as the Nets earned a 128-116 win over the Spurs. He came off the bench in an NBA game for the first time since winning the league’s Sixth Man award for Oklahoma City in 2011-12. He also had seven rebounds after the longest layoff of his career, missing more than a month with a strained right hamstring.
Landry Shamet scored 21 points and Nicolas Claxton had a career-high 18 for the Nets, who have won three straight since a four-game skid to pull within 1 1/2 games of the 76ers for the Eastern Conference lead.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
— Damian Lillard scored 30 points and CJ McCollum added 26 to lead the Trail Blazers to their fifth consecutive win, 105-98 over the Jazz. Carmelo Anthony added 18 points as Portland remained in a fifth-place tie with Dallas in the West. Jordan Clarkson scored 29 points for Utah, which dropped its second straight and saw its lead in the West trimmed to 1 1/2 games over Phoenix.
— The Hawks clinched their first playoff berth since 2017 and took over the fourth seed in the East with a 120-116 win over the Wizards. Trae Young scored 33 points and John Collins hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24.4 seconds remaining. Russell Westbrook scored 34 points and dished out 15 assists for the Wizards, who were up 100-87.
— Luka Doncic scored 33 points and the Mavericks took a major step toward avoiding the play-in tournament by whipping the Pelicans, 125-107. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points in his return from injury, helping Dallas eliminate New Orleans from postseason contention.
— Kyle Kuzma’s driving layup with 6.9 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a 124-122 victory over the Rockets. Los Angeles had a 121-113 lead with 2:57 remaining, but Houston scored nine straight points to go up by one in the final minute. Talen Horton-Tucker had 23 points for the defending champs, who have slim hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament.
— Kevin Love nailed six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 30 points as the Cavaliers topped the Celtics, 102-94 to end an 11-game losing streak. Collin Sexton added 28 points and Love grabbed 14 boards in the win. Jayson Tatum had a team-high 29 points in Boston’s eighth loss in 11 games.
