HOUSTON — James Harden had a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the first meeting with his former Houston teammates and the Brooklyn Nets won 132-114 on Wednesday night to hand the Rockets their 13th straight loss.

The Nets set a franchise record with their seventh straight road victory and have won 10 of their last 11 overall.

It’s the longest skid for the Rockets, who had just eight players available because of injuries, since they dropped 15 in a row in 2001. They’ve had a tough time since Harden was traded Jan. 14 and haven’t won since Feb. 4.

The Rockets used a 10-0 run, with five points from John Wall, to cut the lead to eight with about eight minutes left in the fourth. But the Nets scored the next eight points, with two 3s from Harden, to extend it to 113-97 midway through the quarter.

It’s the eighth triple-double for Harden this season and his second straight after he had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists without a turnover in an overtime victory at San Antonio on Monday night. He didn’t play as clean of a game Wednesday when he had eight turnovers.

Harden got a mixed reception from the crowd. Many of the 3,615 fans booed when he was introduced before the game and more boos came the first few times he touched the ball.

The Rockets played a video showcasing some of the countless highlights of his eight seasons in Houston during a timeout in the first quarter. There were more cheers than boos as it played. Harden stepped out of the huddle and raised his arms before placing his hands in a praying position to acknowledge the fans as it ended.

Wall had a season-high 36 points, and Victor Oladipo also set his season high with 33.

76ERS 131, UTAH 123:  Joel Embiid had 40 points and 19 rebounds and hit a tying 3-pointer late in regulation, and Tobias Harris scored 11 of his 22 points in overtime to lead Philadelphia past visiting Utah in a battle of division leaders.

Ben Simmons added 17 points for the Eastern Conference-leading 76ers.

Donovan Mitchell had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the NBA-leading Jazz’s second straight loss. Mitchell was ejected with 30.8 seconds left in overtime after picking up his second technical. He got his first with 57.5 seconds remaining in the extra period after arguing a foul call.

PACERS 114, CAVALIERS 111: T.J. McConnell set an NBA record with nine steals in the first half and had his second career triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and a franchise-best 10 steals, leading visiting Indiana past Cleveland.

McConnell was one off the NBA record of 11 steals set San Antonio’s Larry Kenon on Dec. 26, 1976, at Kansas City, and matched by New Jersey’s Kendall Gill on April 3, 1999, against Miami.

McConnell was 8 of 8 from the field in 36 minutes off the bench, and Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points to help Indiana snapped a four-game skid. The Pacers overcame a 19-point deficit in the third quarter.

Collin Sexton had 32 points, 10 assists and three steals for Cleveland. The Cavaliers had won four in a row.

PISTONS 129, RAPTORS 105: Wayne Ellington scored 25 points and visiting Detroit beat virus-depleted Toronto to snap a three-game losing streak.

Ellington was 8 of 11 from 3-point range and the Pistons were 20 for 41 overall from long range. Detroit’s backup had 56 points, with Rodney McGruder and Saben Lee each finishing with 20.

Norman Powell had 36 points for Toronto, and Kyle Lowry added 21 points.

The Raptors played without Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Coach Nick Nurse and most of his staff also were held out.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday night, but postponed because of the Raptors’ COVID outbreak.

HORNETS 132, TIMBERWOLVES 102: Terry Rozier scored 31 points and Gordon Hayward added 23 as Charlotte won at Minneapolis.

Rozier was instrumental in helping the Hornets pull away in the third quarter. He hit three 3-pointers in a span of 1:29, the last of which pushed the lead to 79-65. Yet another 3 from Rozier capped an 18-0 run that made it 89-65.

BULLS 128, PELICANS 124: Zach LaVine capped a 36-point performance with a driving layup and four free throws during the final minute, and visiting Chicago held off a late rally by New Orleans.

Coby White scored 25 for the Bulls, who led by as many as 19 and were still up 18 in the fourth quarter before the Pelicans’ late surge pulled them as close as 117-113 on Jaxson Hayes alley-oop dunk as he was fouled with 1:49 left.

Hayes missed the free throw, however, and Zion Williamson, who scored 28 points, missed two free throws with a chance to cut it to two with 1:23 left.

The Bulls pulled out of a three-minute dry spell that included five missed shots and three turnovers when Wendell Carter Jr.’s putback made it 119-113 with 1:05 to go.

MAVERICKS 87, THUNDER 78: Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 13 rebounds with European sidekick Luka Doncic sidelined by a back issue going into his second All-Star appearance, and Dallas won at home.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, Josh Richardson added 16 and Dallas cruised most of the second half without the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer. Doncic had averaged 31.6 points in the previous nine games, with Dallas winning seven to get above .500 for the first time since Jan. 22.

The Mavericks kept that roll going, winning for the 10th time in 13 games going into the All-Star break. Dallas lost six in a row before that.

Coach Rick Carlisle said he expected Doncic, who was in a white Air Jordan hoodie in his usual spot in one corner of the spaced-out bench, to play in Atlanta on Sunday. The Slovenian sensation was voted a starter for the second straight year.

Porzingis, who averaged 27.2 points and 11.8 rebounds in 10 games without Doncic in their first season together in 2019-20, started quietly but finished 7 of 15 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points for Oklahoma City, which was held to a season low in points on its worst shooting night so far at 33%. The previous lows were 80 points and 37%.

HAWKS 115, MAGIC 112: Trae Young scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with eight seconds remaining as visiting Atlanta rallied from 19 down in the second half to beat Orlando.

Young had 20 points after halftime to lead the Hawks back from a 61-42 deficit at the break. They shot 9 of 13 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and 21 of 45 in the game to complete their biggest comeback of the season.
NOTES

ALL-STAR GAME: The last shot of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game will be worth $300,000 for either the Thurgood Marshall College Fund or United Negro College Fund, the league said in revealing how an estimated $3 million in charitable donations from the contest will be distributed.

Those two organizations that support historically Black colleges or universities will be the primary benefactors, each guaranteed $500,000 in scholarship funding before the game even starts and with an additional $750,000 at stake during the game.

The teams captained by LeBron James and Kevin Durant will each represent one of those groups, and the winning team in each of the first, second and third quarters will collect $150,000 for their respective organization. The first team to hit the target score and win the All-Star Game will get the final $300,000 in scholarship funds.

Black institutions will see at least another $1.25 million guaranteed from the skills competitions and All-Star Game, the NBA said. Each assist in the game will generate $1,900 in scholarship funds; last year’s game had 77 assists, which if matched this year would mean $146,300.

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