Aldridge, Gay help Spurs hold off rampant Rockets
LAMARCUS Aldridge had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs held Houston to its lowest-scoring game of the season, beating the visiting Rockets 100-83 on Sunday.
The Spurs remained fourth in the Western Conference after preventing a season sweep by the Rockets. Houston owns the NBA’s best record.
San Antonio outscored Houston 19-8 to open the fourth quarter in taking a 94-74 lead with 5 minutes left. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni took out his starters 2 minutes later.
The Rockets were without injured Chris Paul and the Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard, who has played in only nine games this season.
James Harden scored 25 points for Houston on 8-of-19 shooting. He also had 8 assists, but battled foul trouble before exiting with 5 fouls. Eric Gordon added 18 points for the Rockets.
In Cleveland, LeBron James struggled before extending his record double-digit scoring streak to 868 games and Cleveland had a rough time with Dallas before putting away the lottery-bound Mavericks 98-87.
James, who broke Michael Jordan’s NBA mark for consecutive games with at least 10 points on Friday night, didn’t reach 10 until 7:59 remained. He finished just 5 of 21 from the field but made a pair of 3-pointers as the Cavs finally pulled away with a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter.
James had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, his 17th triple-double this season and No. 72 of his career.
“I missed four, five, maybe six layups, which I’m not accustomed to doing,” James said.
“But me not shooting the ball well never stopped me making an impact on the game.”
Cleveland has won eight of its last nine and is third in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining.
Harrison Barnes scored 30 points to lead Dallas, which has dropped eight of nine.
Elsewhere, it was: 76ers 119, Hornets 102; Trail Blazers 113, Grizzlies 98; Warriors 117, Suns 107; Thunder 109, Pelicans 104; Pistons 108, Nets 96; Pacers 111, Clippers 104; Nuggets 128, Bucks 125 (in overtime); Jazz 121, Timberwolves 97; Bulls 113, Wizards 94; King 84, Lakers 83; and Hawks 94, Magic 88.
