Highlights of today's NBA games

Mar 27, 2017 - 5:14 AM HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NBA GAMES PLAYED ON SUNDAY (MONDAY AEDT)

ROCKETS 137 beat THUNDER 125 - Lou Williams scored 31 points while James Harden finished with 22 points and 12 assists as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 137-125 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook had 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double and his 36th this season, but Harden led the Rockets to a 25-point lead through three quarters in the matchup between top MVP candidates.

Harden left late in the game after crashing into the court and appearing to injure his left wrist, but said in a TV interview he expected to be OK.

CELTICS 112 bt HEAT 108 - Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, as Boston beat Miami for their fourth successive victory.

The win moved Boston (48-26) within percentage points of Cleveland (47-25) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics also equalled their win total from last season.

Jae Crowder added 25 points and six rebounds for the Celtics.

WARRIORS 106 bt GRIZZLIES 94 - Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half as Golden State pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Memphis for their seventh win in a row.

Stephen Curry added 21 points and 11 assists and Andre Iguodala scored 20 as the Warriors (59-14) extended their lead to two-and-a-half games over the Spurs for the top spot in the West. Golden State began a stretch of five games in eight days when the Warriors will face playoff contenders Houston (twice), San Antonio and Washington.

TRAIL BLAZERS 97 bt LAKERS 81 - Damian Lillard scored 22 points and Portland defeated Los Angeles to pull even with Denver in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Both the Trail Blazers and Nuggets are 35-38 with nine games left in the regular season. They play each other on Tuesday in Portland.

PELICANS 115 bt NUGGETS 90 - Anthony Davis had 31 points and 15 rebounds, helping to compensate for the absence of injured DeMarcus Cousins, as New Orleans boosted their flickering playoff hopes by beating Denver.

New Orleans are in 11th place in the West with nine games remaining and face long odds in trying to overtake Dallas, Portland and Denver for the No.8 seed.

Davis had his 45th double-double of the season and finished with 30 or more points for the 32nd time. Jrue Holiday and Jordan Crawford added 13 points apiece for the Pelicans, who have won four of five.

Cousins sat out because of a right ankle injury sustained during Friday's loss at Houston.

BULLS 109 bt BUCKS 94 - Nikola Mirotic tied a season high with 28 points while Jimmy Butler had 20 points and a career-high 14 assists as the Bulls pulled away for the win.

Butler broke his previous career best for assists (12) by the end of a pivotal third quarter, when Chicago stretched a one-point lead at the half to 91-79 going into the fourth.

Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.

KINGS 98 bt CLIPPERS 97 - Willie Cauley-Stein made a follow shot with two seconds left, lifting Sacramento to the road win.

Down 85-67 early in the fourth, the Kings rallied while Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan were resting.

Darren Collison led the Kings with 19 points. Buddy Hield added 15 as the Kings snapped a four-game losing streak and won for only the third time in 15 games.

HORNETS 120 bt SUNS 106 - Kemba Walker had 31 points and nine assists as Charlotte handed Phoenix their eighth successive loss.

Marvin Williams added 21 points and Nic Batum had 18 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who have won four of their past five games as they try to make a late playoff push.

Suns guard Devin Booker, who became the sixth player in NBA history to score 70 points in a loss on Saturday night to the Boston Celtics, got off to a slow start but finished with 23 points on seven-of-17 shooting. TJ Warren had 21 points and 10 rebounds.

NETS 107 bt HAWKS 91 - Brook Lopez scored 23 points as Brooklyn handed Atlanta their seventh straight loss.

Jeremy Lin had 19 points for the Nets (16-57), who have won three of four and are 7-8 in March.

The Hawks are tied with Milwaukee for fifth in the Eastern Conference.

PACERS 107 bt 76ERS 94 - Myles Turner had 17 points and 16 rebounds while Paul George scored 21 as Indiana topped Philadelphia.

Jeff Teague added 16 points for the Pacers, who used a 30-point third quarter to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 12-point advantage as they snapped a two-game skid.

Indiana (37-36) moved into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Atlanta and Milwaukee. The Pacers will play both the Bucks and Hawks during their final nine games of the season.

Source: AAP