HOUSTON — James Harden scored 32 points in three quarters to surpass 20,000 and the Houston Rockets rolled to an easy 139-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Houston led by double figures for most of the game and used a huge run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and bounce back after a lopsided loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
Harden, who had 12 rebounds and eight assists, is the 45th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points and the seventh-youngest. He entered the game 10 points away and reached the milestone in fitting fashion, on a step-back 3-pointer midway through the second quarter.
The public address announcer simply said 20,000 after Harden hit the shot, before a video was played during the next timeout to mark the occasion. The video showed him making his first points in the NBA while with the Thunder, then making a free throw that gave him 10,000 points and a replay of the 3 that got him to 20,000.
BULLS 108, PISTONS 99: Zach LaVine scored 25 points and Chicago held off host Detroit to snap a six-game losing streak.
NOTES
NETS: Kyrie Irving could return to Brooklyn’s lineup Sunday after missing two months with a right shoulder injury.
The Nets listed Irving as probable on the injury report Saturday for their game against Atlanta.
Irving has missed 26 games with what the Nets said was an impingement, though Irving said he also had bursitis in the shoulder. He began to feel pain in early November before first sitting out after a game in Denver on Nov. 14.
He revealed last week he had a cortisone shot on Dec. 24, opting for that instead of surgery.
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