HOUSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers tied the NBA record with their 26th straight loss Thursday night, as James Harden’s triple-double led the Houston Rockets to a 120-98 victory. ADVERTISING HOUSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers tied the NBA record with their
HOUSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers tied the NBA record with their 26th straight loss Thursday night, as James Harden’s triple-double led the Houston Rockets to a 120-98 victory.
Harden had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters for his second career triple-double as Houston picked up its fifth straight victory.
The 76ers (15-57) stuck around early before a big second-quarter run allowed the Rockets to pull away and roll to the win.
Philadelphia matched the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA’s worst skid and can set the record at home against Detroit on Saturday.
James Anderson led the Sixers with 30 points and made six 3-pointers.
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, HAWKS 85
ATLANTA — LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return from a back injury, and Portland beat Atlanta to end a three-game losing streak.
Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who had lost seven of 10 and were in danger of falling out of the fifth spot in the Western Conference playoff standings.
The Hawks have lost five straight. They lead the Knicks by only 1 ½ games in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jeff Teague, who was scoreless in Wednesday night’s loss at Minnesota, led the Hawks with 22 points. Lou Williams had 16 points, including 13 in the final period when Atlanta closed the deficit to six points.
CLIPPERS 109, MAVERICKS 103
DALLAS — Chris Paul scored 31 points, Blake Griffin added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Los Angeles rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Dallas.
The Clippers have won all three meetings, with second-half rallies in each game. On Thursday, the teams combined for six technical fouls charged to players on the floor, three on each team.
Vince Carter scored 23 points off the bench for the Mavericks, going 4 for 5 on 3-pointers. Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points but only two in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles maintained its one-game lead over Houston for second place in the Western Conference.
The loss dropped Dallas a half-game behind Phoenix and into ninth place in the tight race for the final playoff berths in the West.
BUCKS 108, LAKERS 105
MILWAUKEE — Brandon Knight scored 30 points, Ramon Sessions added 22 and Milwaukee beat Los Angeles to break an eight-game losing streak.
The Bucks swept the season series with the Lakers for the first time since 2006-07. Knight scored a career-high 37 points in Milwaukee’s 94-79 victory on Dec. 31 in the other meeting.
Khris Middleton added 14 points for the Milwaukee, which won for only the 14th time this season.
Jordan Hill had 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, while Nick Young added 17 points.
