Tony Parker had 17 points and seven assists, and San Antonio never trailed in their 114-92 win over Houston on Friday night.
The Spurs had six players score in double figures, while matching their season high with 33 assists.
Tiago Splitter scored 15 points and Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills and Tim Duncan each added 12. Duncan also had a game-high 12 rebounds.
James Harden had 29 points, and Patrick Patterson and Toney Douglas each scored 10 to lead Houston.
It was Harden’s first game in San Antonio since helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Spurs last season in the Western Conference finals. The fans certainly remembered Harden, who was booed heartily during pre-game introductions and every time he shot a free throw.
Jeremy Lin continued his struggle with shooting consistency, scoring just four points in his 26 minutes on court and shot 0-for-3 from behind the arc. He also had four assists, six rebounds, one steal and two turnovers.
Of Lin’s past 10 showings, he has fluctuated between double-digit points in five games and no more than six points in the other five, including 19 points against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 1 and four points on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
On his team’s offensive struggles, Lin was quoted as saying on the Rockets’ official Web site that “I think we missed a lot of shots that we normally make, to be honest. I think they did a good job of taking away our first option.”
“That’s what we strive to become. We’ve seen little glimpses of it. You might see it in a great game, half, or a stretch when we play like that. But we’ve got to get to the point where we’re running the system,” Lin said, commenting on the 16-4 Spurs’ performance in games this season.
Grizzlies 96, Hornets 89
In New Orleans, Rudy Gay tied a season high with 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies maintained their NBA-best winning percentage with their victory over the struggling New Orleans Hornets.
Former Hornets first-round draft choice Quincy Pondexter tied a season high with 16 points for the Grizzlies, who improved to 14-3 (.823). Zach Randolph added 15 points and Marc Gasol 13.
Ryan Anderson, Austin Rivers and Brian Roberts each scored 15 points for the Hornets, who were within one possession of tying or leading several times in the fourth quarter. Xavier Henry, making his first start this season, had 12 points.
76ERS 95, CELTICS 94, OT
In Philadelphia, Evan Turner had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Thaddeus Young added 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia past Boston in overtime.
Turner drove past Courtney Lee and tossed up an off-balance, right-handed shot for a 95-94 lead with 3.9 seconds left. Boston guard Rajon Rondo slipped and his ankles buckled on the last possession, costing him a chance to hit the potential game-winner, a dud ending to his sizzling triple-double.
Rondo had 16 points, 14 assists and a season-high 13 rebounds. Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored 27 points.
THUNDER 114, LAKERS 108
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant had 36 points and Russell Westbrook scored 27 of his 33 in the first half to take Oklahoma City to a commanding lead in a win over short-handed Los Angeles.
NBA scoring leader Kobe Bryant had 35 points to lead the Lakers, who trailed by 19 before rallying to get within four in the final minute. Dwight Howard added 23 points and 18 rebounds.
Westbrook’s big first half put the Thunder in control, but LA charged back with a late 27-12 run to make it interesting.
In other NBA games it was:
‧ Nuggets 92, Pacers 89
‧ Bulls 108, Pistons 104
‧ Warriors 109, Nets 102
‧ Timberwolves 91, Cavaliers 73
‧ Hawks 104, Wizards 95
‧ Bucks 108, Bobcats 93
‧ Jazz 131, Raptors 99
‧ Kings 91, Magic 82
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB