Nets lose Harden but beat Rockets, move into first in East
Houston Rockets' Kevin Porter Jr. (3) and Jae'Sean Tate (8) defend against Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 31, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)NEW YORK – 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 on Wednesday night 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 Rockets jumped to a 24-6 lead, with an 8-for-9 start that included makes on all five 3-point attempts. The Rockets listed the injury as a left knee effusion and it's unknown whether it will keep him out longer.
Rockets end skid at 20, Wall has 1st triple-double since '16
Houston Rockets' John Wall (1) drives on Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet (23) during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 22, 2021, in Houston. But Wall had 19 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds, his first triple-double since March 17, 2016. The Rockets closed out the third quarter with an 88-86 lead and opened the fourth quarter on a 9-1 run to pull away. AdThe Raptors led 28-27 at the end of the first quarter. In their losing streak, Houston led after the first quarter only three times, including on Feb. 26 when they led the Raptors 31-30.
Rockets lose team-record 20th straight game, fall to Thunder
(AP Photo/Michael Wyke)HOUSTON – Mired in a long losing streak, the Houston Rockets twice put the ball in John Wall's hands in the waning moments. The Rockets lost their team-record 20th straight game, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-112 Sunday when Wall missed two shots in the final 10 seconds. This one hurts.”Dort scored 23 points and Isaiah Roby had 18 for the Thunder, who led by as many as 13 points. They shot a sizzling 14 of 21 on 3s in the second quarter, however, and Oklahoma City led 66-62 at halftime. The Rockets hit a franchise-record 28 3s in a win against the Thunder on Feb. 1, just three days before their last win.
Pistons hand Rockets franchise-worst 19th straight loss
Houston Rockets guard Victor Oladipo (7) shoots as Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (28) defends during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 19, 2021, in Houston. (Troy Taromina/Pool Photo via AP)HOUSTON – Frank Jackson had a season-high 23 points and the Detroit Pistons handed the Houston Rockets their franchise-record 19th straight loss, 113-100 on Friday night. The injury-plagued Rockets were playing just their fourth game of the season where Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo and John Wall were all available. Wall had 21 points and seven assists, Oladipo had 19 points, and Wood 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rockets: Wall was charged with a flagrant foul on a second-quarter collision with Frank Jackson and later received a technical foul for arguing with officials in the third quarter.
Cavaliers ship Kevin Porter Jr. to Rockets for draft pick
FILE - Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Porter Jr., right, drives past Indiana Pacers' Victor Oladipo in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, in this Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, file photo. Kevin Porter quickly went from being a future star with the Cavaliers to part of their past. Cleveland finalized its trade with Houston on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, sending Porter to the Rockets for a future second-round draft pick. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)CLEVELAND – Kevin Porter quickly went from being a future star with the Cavaliers to part of their past. “After careful and thoughtful evaluation, we made the very difficult and collective decision to make this trade,” Cavs general manager Koby Altman said.
AP source: Cavs trading Porter to Rockets for future pick
FILE - Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Porter Jr. drives against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, in this Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, file photo. The Cavaliers are moving on from troubled and talented forward Kevin Porter Jr., a person familiar with his standing with the team told the Associated Press on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)CLEVELAND – Kevin Porter Jr. is no longer a problem for the Cavaliers. The Cavs will send Porter, the 2019 first-round draft pick who hasn't played this season and recently had an outburst in the team's locker room, to the Rockets for a protected second-round pick. Porter had only returned to practice with the Cavs a day earlier after they had spent months trying to help him.