James Harden (left) of the Houston Rockets drives the ball against Portland Trail Blazers’ Allen Crabbe at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday. (AFP)

DPA /Los Angeles


The struggling Houston Rockets needed a victory and James Harden provided the late-game heroics to cap an emotional day. Harden fired in 45 points, including all nine of Houston’s in overtime on Wednesday, and the Rockets rallied for a thrilling 108-103 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
“Tonight, we had to focus on getting a win, that was the most important thing,” Harden said. “Whatever happened this morning, my mindset was just to be great at what I do and that’s being the leader and supporting the team.”
Behind Harden, the Rockets (5-7) snapped a four-game slide and gave interim head coach J B Bickerstaff his first win, hours after being promoted from assistant to replace fired Kevin McHale. “It didn’t happen the way I would have liked it to happen but we’re here,” said Bickerstaff. “I’m confident I can do things to get our team to go where we need to go.”
The Rockets wiped out a 17-point third-quarter deficit and forced overtime at 99-apiece when Harden sent a cross-court pass over to Corey Brewer, who splashed down a runner from the right side with nine-tenths of a second left. “I just let it go and I knew as soon as it left my hand, nothing but the bottom,” said Brewer, who had a season-high 16 points off the bench. “We needed something to turn things around and that could be the play, right there.”
Harden put on a one-man show in the extra five-minute session and finished with 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals as the Rockets look to build on the win.
“Coach did a good job today under the circumstances and we played desperate,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said after an 18-point outing. “James did what he did down the stretch and we have to continue to stay confident.”
Bickerstaff was proud the way his club fought back. “It’s what we needed and the way it happened is the way we needed it to happen,” he explained. “Our guys were down and for us to be down and show perseverance, grit, fight and togetherness speaks volumes for our guys and the commitment for what we’re trying to do here.”
Damian Lillard had 23 points, and  C J McCollum added 19 for Portland (4-9) losers of seven in a row.

Oklahoma City Thunder 110,
New Orleans 103
Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 43 points in the final three minutes, to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists, carrying the host Thunder (7-5) over the injury-riddled visiting Pelicans. Ryan Anderson scored 30 for New Orleans (1-11), which lost its fifth in a row, as All-Star forward Anthony Davis sat out with a shoulder injury.
Chicago Bulls 103, Phoenix Suns 97
Jimmy Butler scored 14 of his season-high 32 points in the final quarter, and the visiting Bulls (8-3)- minus star guard Derek Rose because of an ankle injury - shaded the Suns for their fourth consecutive win. Brandon Knight tossed in 23 points as Phoenix (5-5) lost for the first time in four games.

Orlando Magic 104,
Minnesota Timberwolves 101
Frenchman Evan Fournier had 26 points, including the game-winning triple with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, shooting the Magic (6-6) past the visiting Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota 5-7) with 28 points, while Spaniard Ricky Rubio added eight with 12 assists and 12 boards.

Dallas Mavericks 106,
Boston Celtics 102
German Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, and the visiting Mavericks (8-4) stormed from 18 down in the first half to win their fifth in a row while snapping the Celtics’ (6-5) three-game streak.

Atlanta Hawks 103,
Sacramento Kings 97
Paul Millsap scored 23 points, including a runner in the lane with 15.7 seconds left and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the hosts Hawks (9-5) stopped a three-game slide after ending the visiting Kings’ three-game success.  DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento (4-8) while Rajon Rondo had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple double of the season.

Indiana Pacers 112,
Philadelphia 76ers 85
Paul George poured in 34 points, and the visiting Pacers (7-5) forced a season-high 31 turnovers to drop the winless Sixers to 0-12

Utah Jazz 93, Toronto Raptors 89
Derrick Favors had 18 points, including the game-sealing three-point play with 23 seconds left, and the Jazz (6-5) edged the visiting Raptors (7-6) despite a season-high 22 by Argentine Luis Scola.  

San Antonio Spurs 109,
Denver Nuggets 98
Frenchman Tony Parker tossed in a season-best 25 points, Kawhi Leonard added 20, sending the Spurs (9-2) to their sixth straight win after rocking visiting Nuggets (6-6) paced by the 23 from Serbian rookie Nikola Jokic.

Charlotte Hornets 116,
Brooklyn Nets 111
Frenchman Nicolas Batum netted 24 points and the host Hornets (6-6) clipped the Nets (2-10) paced by Thaddeus Young’s game-high 27.