UNDATED (AP) — Kyrie Irving had 31 points and a season-high 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame the loss of James Harden to beat the Houston Rockets 120-108 and move into first place in the Eastern Conference.
Harden sat out the fourth quarter against his former team with right hamstring tightness, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Nets put together the pivotal run without him, scoring 12 straight midway through the final period to turn a six-point deficit into a 107-101 lead, winning a game they trailed by 18 points.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
— Andre Drummond left his Lakers debut with a bruised right toe, and Jrue Holiday scored 28 points in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 112-97 victory over Los Angeles. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 17 points and eight assists as the Bucks snapped their three-game losing streak with a workmanlike victory over the depleted defending NBA champions, who are still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Drummond scored four points in 14 minutes before limping off the court early in the third quarter. X-rays were negative on Los Angeles’ new center.
— Devin Booker scored a season-high 45 points, Chris Paul added 19 points and 14 assists, and the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 121-116. Booker made 17 of 24 shots from the field and 9 of 10 free throws. Dario Saric added 16 points off the bench. Phoenix has won four straight while Chicago has lost five in a row. Chicago was led by Nikola Vujecic’s 24 points and 10 rebounds. Thaddeus Young added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Denzel Valentine also scored 19 points.
— Mike Conley scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jordan Clarkson added 24 points and the Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies 111-107 for their seventh straight victory. Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points for Utah, which defeated Memphis for the third time in a week, this time overcoming 36 points from Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. Kyle Anderson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, and Dillon Brooks finished with 17 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 14 rebounds. Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell was not with the Jazz for personal reasons.
— Luka Doncic had 36 points and eight rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Boston Celtics 113-108. Jalen Brunson added 21 points, including two late free throws, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points as the Mavericks won their second straight. Dallas led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter before the Celtics rallied to within single digits in the fourth. Jayson Tatum had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Boston. Jaylen Brown added 24 points for Boston, which has lost its last two.
— Svi Mykhailiuk scored 10 of his season-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 113-103. Mykhailiuk made 9 of 14 shots and had a career-high nine rebounds. Moses Brown had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Roby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder outrebounded the Raptors 64-35 to snap a three-game losing streak. Toronto has dropped 13 of its last 14 games.
— Damian Lillard had 33 points and nine assists and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 124-101. CJ McCollum added 24 points and Carmelo Anthony and Robert Covington each scored 16 in Portland’s fourth straight win. Jerami Grant scored 30 points for Detroit, which lost for the fifth time in six games.
— Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler helped Miami rally from a 13-point first-half deficit by spurring a decisive eight-point fourth-quarter run to give the Heat a 92-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Robinson finished with 20 points and Butler added 18 as Miami avoided getting swept in the three-game season series with the Pacers. The Heat have won two straight since ending a four-game losing streak.
— Anthony Edwards scored 11 of his 24 points over the final eight minutes to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves’ rally for a 102-101 victory over the New York Knicks. Malik Beasley highlighted his 20 points with the go-ahead 3-pointer with 37 seconds left for the Timberwolves. They outscored the Knicks 22-9 over the final 7:50. Julius Randle had 26 points for the Knicks, who led by 18 points in the second quarter. R.J. Barrett’s jumper at the buzzer was short for the chance to win.
— DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs snapped Sacramento’s five-game winning streak, beating the Kings 120-106 on Wednesday night. Derrick White added 18 points, Rudy Gay had 16 and Jakob Poeltl finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio. De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 16 to lead Sacramento, which had not lost since March 20.
