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Rockets soar past Jazz to collect 13th straight win
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — James Harden had 26 points and Luc Mbah a Moute scored 15 of his 17 in the fourth quarter to send Houston past Utah Monday for its 13th straight victory.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back set at high altitude, nothing seemed to come easy for the Rockets. But the Jazz committed 22 turnovers, many of them unforced, to ease the pressure.
Mbah a Moute went 7 for 7 and Chris Paul added 15 points for the streaking Rockets, who trailed by 15 in the first half.
Coming in, it was a matchup of two of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Jazz had won 12 of 13.
Rudy Gobert scored 17 and Donovan Mitchell had 16 to lead the Jazz, who were 7 of 29 from 3-point range.

RAPTORS 123,
 PISTONS 94
TORONTO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry each scored 20 points, Serge Ibaka had 19 and Toronto routed Detroit for its seventh win in eight games.
Pascal Siakam added 11 points as the Raptors improved to 25-5 at home, the best record in the NBA.
The Eastern Conference leaders bounced back from Friday’s overtime loss against Milwaukee, using spurts at the start of the second and third quarters to hand the slumping Pistons their third straight defeat and sixth in seven games.
Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds but Detroit lost its fourth consecutive meeting with Toronto. The Pistons fell three games behind idle Miami for the final playoff spot in the East.

CELTICS 109,
GRIZZLIES 98
BOSTON (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in three quarters of work and Boston beat Memphis.
Boston has won all three games coming out of the All-Star break. Terry Rozier finished with 15 points, and Jaylen Brown added 13.
After scoring a basket early in the second quarter, the Grizzlies went nearly eight minutes without a field goal. The Celtics rallied during Memphis’ drought and used a 22-6 run to increase their lead to 55-30.
Boston (43-19) led by as many as 28 in the second half.
JaMychal Green had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol added 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Memphis (18-41) has lost 10 straight games and 10 consecutive on the road.  The Grizzlies are also 0-10 on the road this season against the Eastern Conference. They remain the only NBA team with a road victory against the East.

NETS 104, BULLS 87
Alan Crabbe scored 21 points and Brooklyn snapped an eight-game losing streak with a win over Chicago.
Jarrett Allen and DeMarre Carroll each had 18 points for the Nets, and Joe Harris added 15.
Kris Dunn led the Bulls with 23 points and Lauri Markkanen had 19. Chicago has lost four straight and 13 of 16.

LAKERS 123,
HAWKS 104
ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Ingram had 21 points and 10 rebounds, leading nine Los Angeles scorers in double figures, and the Lakers beat Atlanta for their third straight win.
Julius Randle added 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers overcame 23 turnovers to keep their lead in double figures throughout the second half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 14 rebounds and 10 points.
Taurean Prince scored 24 for the Hawks in their fourth straight loss.

PELICANS 125,
 SUNS 116
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anthony Davis scored a season-high 53 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked five shots as New Orleans extended its winning streak to six games with a victory over hapless Phoenix.
Jrue Holiday scored 20 points for the Pelicans, whose season-best unbeaten run has pulled them into a tie with Portland for fifth place in the Western Conference despite being without All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins, who was lost for the season Jan. 26 with a torn Achilles.
Emeka Okafor, brought back to the NBA for the first time since 2013 about a week after Cousins’ injury, scored 14 points.
Devin Booker had 40 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who lost their 10th straight and still haven’t won this month. Josh Jackson added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, which led by as many as 17 in the second quarter but fell behind for good with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

THUNDER 112,
MAGIC 105
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Paul George scored 26 points to help Oklahoma City defeat Orlando.
George, who scored just five points on 1-for-14 shooting in a blowout loss to Golden State on Saturday, shot 9 of 20 against the Magic and Frank Vogel, his coach when he played for the Indiana Pacers.
Steven Adams scored 16 points and Russell Westbrook had eight points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Thunder.
Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons each scored 19 for Orlando, which lost its sixth in a row.

MAVERICKS 109,
PACERS 103
DALLAS (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, J.J. Barea added 19 and Dallas beat Indiana.
The Mavericks ended a four-game losing streak and stopped Indiana’s four-game winning streak. They also swept the two-game season series.
Doug McDermott had 15 points for Dallas, and Dwight Powell added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Myles Turner led Indiana with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Turner played high school ball nearby at Euless Trinity and his only college season at Texas.
Victor Oladipo scored 21 for the Pacers despite playing only 23 minutes because of foul trouble.