LOS ANGELES — James Harden recorded his fifth 40-plus point scoring effort during the Houston Rockets’ seven-game winning streak, posting 49 in a 125-105 victory over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.

Hamstrung by a roster depleted by injuries, Harden took a career-high 41 shot attempts. He finished 8 of 22 on 3-pointers and added five rebounds and six assists over 39 minutes.

A trio of guards provided Harden support offensively. Ben McLemore followed his 21-point performance Friday against Indiana with 20 points, including a pair of free throws with 1:29 left in the third quarter that gave the Rockets their first double-digit lead at 89-79.

Austin Rivers and Chris Clemons scored 19 points apiece for the Rockets, who also received a career-best 16 rebounds from center Isaiah Hartenstein. Houston shot 19 of 49 on 3-pointers.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 11 points in the first half but struggled to contain Harden. They also missed the production of their second-leading scorer, forward Andrew Wiggins, who missed his second consecutive game (personal reasons).

Karl-Anthony Towns paired 27 points with 15 rebounds to pace the Timberwolves, while Jake Layman scored 21 on 9-of-14 shooting. Robert Covington chipped in 17 points, while rookie Jarrett Culver added 13 points, all in the first half.

With the Rockets missing their second- (Russell Westbrook), third- (Clint Capela), fourth- (Danuel House Jr.) and fifth-leading scorers (Eric Gordon), Harden asserted himself offensively from the opening tip, hoisting 17 first-quarter shots to keep Houston afloat. Harden started the game 1 for 6 from the floor but went 6 of 11 down the stretch and tallied 18 points in the period, as the Rockets shot 6 of 12 from behind the arc and eked out a 31-30 advantage.

Clemons teamed with Harden to score all 13 points in a 13-3 Houston run that erased most of the Timberwolves’ 21-10 lead. Clemons, an undrafted rookie out of Campbell, matched his career high of 16 points by the intermission. With Harden producing 30 points by the break, that duo was able to offset Towns’ 18 points and the combined 24 points from Culver and Layman to lead 64-62.

HEAT STAY UNDEFEATED AT HOME
Rookie Kendrick Nunn scored 22 points as the Miami Heat stayed undefeated at home by beating the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 109-94 on Saturday night.

Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 14 rebounds, Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 13 assists, Duncan Robinson scored 15 points, Kelly Olynyk had 13 points and Tyler Herro 12 as the Heat won for the fifth time in as many home games.

Rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Pelicans, who have just three wins this season but defeated the Clippers in their last game Thursday night, with 27 points. E’Twaun Moore added 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 14 points, rookie Jaxson Hayes 12 and Nicolo Melli 10.

The Pelicans stayed in the game until midway through the fourth quarter primarily by making 3-pointers, finishing with 16. But the Heat enjoyed a 46-31 rebounding advantage.

New Orleans, beginning a set of back-to back games that ends with a home game against Golden State on Sunday, played without five of their top seven scorers, including leading scorer Brandon Ingram and third-leading scorer JJ Redick, because of injury.

The Heat led by five points at halftime, but the Pelicans pulled even at 61 on two free throws by Moore midway through the third quarter.

But Butler scored five points during a 9-0 run that gave Miami some breathing room.

Alexander-Walker’s basket stopped the run, but Robinson’s 3-pointer helped the Heat take a 78-65 lead after three quarters.

New Orleans made five 3-pointers as it trimmed the deficit to 88-83 early in the fourth quarter.

Olynyk’s 3-pointer completed a 10-point run that pushed the Heat’s advantage to 15 with less than five minutes remaining.

Nunn scored nine points and Chris Silva had the final six as the Heat took a 29-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

MCCOLLUM HELPS BLAZERS AVOID DISASTROUS COLLAPSE
CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Hassan Whiteside added 21 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers built a huge early lead, gave it all back and more, but then rallied for a 121-116 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in a wild, back-and-forth game in the Alamo City.

San Antonio trailed by as many as 20 in the first quarter and 23 in the second, but rallied to take the lead in the third and lead by as many as 15 three minutes into the fourth quarter. Portland came back to tie game at 111 after a putback layup by McCollum with 2:26 to play.

The Trail Blazers were the better team down the stretch, outscoring San Antonio 10-5 in the final two minutes to snap a two-game losing streak.

Damian Lillard added 22 points for the Trail Blazers (5-8) and Rodney Hood hit for 16 points in the win.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs (5-8) with 30 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.

Bryn Forbes scored 17 points, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan added 16 each, Patty Mills pumped in 11 points and Derrick White scored 10 for San Antonio, which has lost five straight games.

The Trail Blazers took charge in the first quarter, shooting 76 percent from the floor (and 7 of 11 from beyond the arc) while building a 41-23 lead after the first 12 minutes. It was the most points allowed by the Spurs in any quarter this season.

San Antonio forged an 18-4 run in the second quarter to claw back to within single digits, at 50-41, with 6:53 left in the period. Portland settled for a 66-58 lead at halftime as McCollum racked up 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Whiteside added 10.

Aldridge paced the Spurs with 13 points in the first two quarters, while Forbes hit for 10.

San Antonio, which has lost eight of its past 10 games after a 3-0 start, now head out on a four-game road trip. — Reuters

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