Houston Rockets guard James Harden put up 38 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists on Friday night as he helped his team to a win over the Detroit Pistons.
It was his third triple-double of the season as the Rockets snapped a two-game losing streak, with Harden responding to Russell Westbrook’s crazy numbers recently to cement his place back on top of the pile in the MVP running for many experts.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had another dig at Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Twitter, claiming that “while only focused on obtaining a win”, it was another “distinguished performance” from the Houston shooting guard.
Kerr had hit out at Morey earlier in the week, insisting that he doesn’t feel he has to run a campaign for Stephen Curry to win the award.
In contrast, the Pistons have now lost five in a row as their playoff ambitions begin to ebb away again and coach Stan Van Gundy will need to find a way of getting them back on track.
Speaking of Curry, the Warriors point guard put up 22 points and seven assists in the win over the Dallas Mavericks as Golden State improve to 48-12.
However, Kerr was most pleased with his team’s defensive performance as their offense was struggling for much of the game.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls lost to the Indiana Pacers despite 18 points and 10 rebounds from Pau Gasol, while the San Antonio Spurs are showing signs of getting their offense back in sync as Lawhi Leonard led them to a win over the Denver Nuggets with 25 points and eight rebounds.
NBA Results
Toronto Raptors 94-103 Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls 84-98 Indiana Pacers
Sacramento Kings 114-119 Orlando Magic
Utah Jazz 89-83 Philadelphia 76ers
Miami Heat 97-99 Washington Wizards
Cleveland Cavaliers 97-106 Atlanta Hawks
Phoenix Suns 108-100 Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons 93-103 Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers 90-97 Memphis Grizzlies
Boston Celtics 104-98 New Orleans Pelicans
Denver Nuggets 111-120 San Antonio Spurs
Dallas Mavericks 89-104 Golden State Warriors
COMMENTS