Houston: James Harden had 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Houston Rockets’ 118-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
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On a ‘Flashback Friday’ in which the Rockets wore retro ketchup-and-mustard uniforms from their back-to-back NBA title days in the mid-90s, Harden sported a white headband and cornrows.
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Harden hit a deep step-back 3-pointer over Josh Richardson with 1:17 left in the game that put Houston up 10. On the next possession, he found Clint Capela with an alley-oop for a thunderous dunk.
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Capela was a point shy of his career high in scoring with 30 points and 14 rebounds.
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Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Orlando shut down Miami 105-85 in the fourth quarter.
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Elsewhere, Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Boston Celtics overcome an 18-point, first-quarter deficit against Atlanta to prevail 109-106.
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Damian Lillard scored 35 points and CJ McCollum added 24 in Portland’s 122-103 victory over Washington. Hassan Whiteside added 23 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks to help Portland snap a five-game losing streak.
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The Morning and Evening Brief###
The Morning and Evening Brief