Rockets 111, Spurs 105

After James Harden scored 61 more points Friday night to match his career high, Mike D'Antoni was asked the question just about everyone in the NBA is wondering this season.

Who can defend the league's most unstoppable scorer?

"Me. I can sit him on the bench," D'Antoni said. "That's about it."

Harden scored 27 points in the first quarter and went on a late scoring run to help the Rockets pull out a victory over San Antonio.

The Rockets trailed 100-94 with 4 minutes remaining when they went on a 13-2 run to regain the lead. In that stretch, Harden hit three straight 3-pointers and two tough jumpers to score all of Houston's points. He said his mindset was simple.

"Be aggressive," Harden said. "We were down so we had to make shots and get stops."

Harden topped the 50-point mark for the eighth time this season, compared with 10 such performances from the rest of the league combined. He matched his career-best total set earlier this season against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The NBA's leading scorer surpassed the 30-point mark in the second quarter and the 40-point mark with 9 minutes remaining in the third.

"I just knew how important this game was," Harden said. "This was an opportunity for us to take care of our home so I wanted to come out with some aggressiveness."

Before Harden's late surge, the Spurs had overcome a 15-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 81 entering the fourth quarter.

"I was looking for someplace to throw up," D'Antoni said. "I felt awful. You knew they were going to turn it around . They churned us up and started making shots, but James wouldn't let us lose."

Harden was 7 of 10 from the field in the first quarter, including 3 of 4 from the 3-point line, and went 10 for 12 from the free throw line. His 27 points in the period were the second-most in franchise history, trailing only Vernon Maxwell's 30 in 1991.

Harden finished 9 of 13 from 3, 19 of 34 from the field and 14 of 17 from the free throw line.

"You've got to appreciate it," Rockets point guard Chris Paul said of Harden's run this season. "What he's doing, that ain't easy. I don't care who you are."

Houston has won 13 of its last 15 games and eight of its last nine at home.

Bryn Forbes led San Antonio with 20 points, while Derrick White added 18 and DeMar DeRozan had 16.

DeRozan said Harden is arguably the greatest isolation scorer in the history of the game.

"He's been in the zone all year with the things he's been doing," DeRozan said. "He's been remarkable. You've got to tip your hats to him. When a guy gets going like that, it's tough to slow him down."

Houston led 36-24 at the end of the first quarter and 62-47 at halftime.

"We gave up a million points in the first quarter, they had 19 free throws in the first half and none in the third quarter," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "You play with your heart but you play between the ears, also, so we played smarter and harder in the second half, but you can't do that against a good team like Houston or any team in the NBA.

"You've got to play for 48 minutes. We played the last two quarters and at the end, James put on an MVP-type performance so that's that."

Harden's 61 points were the most ever scored individually against a Popovich-coached team.

The Spurs outscored the Rockets 56-36 in the paint.

Rockets forward P.J. Tucker went scoreless and 0 for 3 from the 3-point line but had 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He was frequently tasked with guarding Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, his former teammate at Texas, who scored 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

The Toyota Center crowd cheered loudly when the Rockets announced an 84-55 win for the University of Houston men's basketball team over Georgia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, a Houston alum who helped fund a renovated arena for Houston in 2016 at the renamed Fertitta Center, sat courtside at the Rockets game.

Thunder 116, Raptors 109

Paul George scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat Toronto.

Dennis Schroder came off the bench to score 26 points and Jerami Grant had 19 as the Thunder snapped a four-game losing streak and avenged Wednesday's 123-114 home defeat to Toronto.

The Thunder made 20 of 43 shots from 3-point range. Oklahoma City made a season-high 22 3-pointers against the Lakers on Jan. 17.

Kawhi Leonard scored 37 points and Pascal Siakam had 25 for the Raptors, who played without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry.

Nuggets 111, Knicks 93

Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 17 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 18 points, and Denver beat New York for its sixth straight victory.

Gary Harris chipped in 14 points for Denver, which moved into a tie with defending champion Golden State for first place in the Western Conference with 11 games remaining for each team.

Will Barton scored 10 of his 12 in the opening quarter as the Nuggets jumped out to a 37-18 lead.

Former Nuggets first-round pick Emmanuel Mudiay had 21 points and rookie Mitchell Robinson added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost their last three games and 11 of 12.

Bucks 116, Heat 87

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points, had eight rebounds and seven assists after missing two games with a sprained right ankle and helped NBA-leading Milwaukee over Miami.

The win came with a brief scare for the Bucks: Antetokounmpo went down in a mix of players after stealing a pass from Goran Dragic early in the second quarter. Milwaukee immediately called a timeout and after a few moments, Antetokounmpo limped to the bench favoring his right leg. A short rest got him right back on the court.

Khris Middleton added 18 points and 10 assists for a career-best three consecutive games with a double-double for Milwaukee, which improved to (29-6) for the second-best home record in the NBA behind the Denver Nuggets (30-6) and secure their most home victories since 2000-01.

Hassan Whiteside came off the bench to score 14 points, Kelly Olynyk added 13 and Bam Adebayo and Dwyane Wade each had 12.

Nets 111, Lakers 106

Joe Harris scored 26 points, D'Angelo Russell added 21 points and 13 assists against his former team, and Brooklyn eliminated the Lakers from playoff contention.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points in his hometown as the Nets (38-36) bolstered their playoff chances with their second straight win after an 0-3 start to this seven-game road trip.

Brooklyn is seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game behind sixth-place Detroit and 2 ½ games ahead of ninth-place Orlando.

JaVale McGee had career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds along with six blocked shots for the Lakers, who have lost five straight and 10 of 11.

Los Angeles (31-41) will miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season despite the arrival of LeBron James, who fell just short of his 81st career triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.

Clippers 110, Cavaliers 108

Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and Los Angeles continued its torrid March, edging Cleveland.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points while Lou Williams had 15 for the Clippers, who are 9-1 this month and closing in on a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Kevin Love scored 22 points for Cleveland, which trailed 94-83 early in the third quarter. Jordan Clarkson and rookie Collin Sexton each had 20.

Magic 123, Grizzlies 119 (OT)

Terrence Ross scored 31 points and Evan Fournier had 27, including the game-clinching free throws, and Orlando rallied to beat Memphis.

Nikola Vucevic added 25 points for the Magic, who came from 14 points behind in the fourth quarter to tie it in regulation and go on to win their fourth straight.

Memphis got 29 points from Tyler Dorsey, who replaced Mike Conley in the lineup. Conley didn't play because of what the team called "general soreness." Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 24 rebounds, and Justin Holiday scored 22 for the Grizzlies. Chandler Parson had 17 points.