Jeremy Lin drained five of Houston’s record-equaling 23 three-pointers on Tuesday as the Rockets romped to a 140-109 NBA victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets matched the NBA record with their 23 from beyond the arc, the long-range barrage lifting them to a fifth win in six games.
Lin finished with 28 points as the Rockets notched their highest-scoring game of the season.
Their 14 three-pointers in the first half also tied an NBA record — even though their best three-point shooter, Carlos Delfino, was sidelined by a right elbow injury.
James Harden and Chandler Parsons had four three-pointers apiece. Harden finished with a total of 18 points and Parsons scored 16.
The Rockets tied the record of 23 three-pointers set by the Orlando Magic in a 139-107 victory over Sacramento on Jan. 13, 2009.
With the game in hand, Houston coach Kevin McHale sent in his reserves for the final minutes.
Marcus Morris made three treys off the bench over the course of the game. Toney Douglas added two and James Anderson had two as well.
Patrick Beverley delivered their 22nd three-pointer with 4 minutes, 20 seconds left and Donatas Motiejunas added the 23rd with 3:41 remaining.
The Rockets had a couple more chances to break the record before Golden State began to intentionally foul them down the stretch.
Things got heated in the final minute, with both Morris and Golden State’s Draymond Green ejected. Green was whistled for a flagrant foul for a hard shot on Beverley, which led to a shoving match that saw Morris tossed.
LAKERS 92, NETS 83
In New York, Kobe Bryant had 21 points and eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absences of Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, and the loss of Pau Gasol, to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-83 on Tuesday night.
Antawn Jamison, starting for the suspended World Peace, made the go-ahead basket during a closing 14-3 run for the Lakers, who have won three straight and six of their past seven games.
Howard missed his third consecutive game with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and Gasol, his replacement, appeared to injure his right foot with a little more than 4 minutes remaining.
Brook Lopez capitalized on the Lakers’ center woes to finish with 30 points and 11 rebounds, but he was the Nets’ only offense down the stretch in their fourth loss in six games.
PACERS 114, HAWKS 103
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Paul George scored 29 points to lead Indiana to their 15th straight home win.
David West had 15 points and seven rebounds, while George Hill added 15 points and eight assists to help the Pacers to their fourth straight victory overall and their longest home win streak in 13 years.
Jeff Teague had 24 points and eight assists, while Al Horford had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hawks, who have lost three of their past four.
The Pacers went on a 7-2 run midway through the fourth quarter. Lance Stephenson scored on a layup before Hill hit a three-pointer with 6:28 left to play to give the Pacers a 100-84 lead, their largest advantage of the game.
SUNS 96, GRIZZLIES 90
In Memphis, Tennessee, Goran Dragic scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead Phoenix past Memphis.
Dragic, who had just two points on one-for-six shooting through three quarters, was five-for-six in the fourth, converting three three-point plays to help the Suns snap a two-game losing streak. With the score tied at 88, Dragic scored six straight points to put the game away.
Marcin Gortat led the Suns with 20 points on eight-for-10 shooting from the field, while Jermaine O’Neal had 14 points. Kendall Marshall added 11 points and Luis Scola finished with 10.
Jerryd Bayless scored a season-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting, including three of four on three-pointers, to lead the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince scored 11 points.
NUGGETS 112, BUCKS 104
In Denver, Colorado, Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson each scored 22 points to help rally Denver for their seventh straight victory.
The Nuggets withstood Samuel Dalembert’s career-high 35 points and trailed by 17 points in the first half before coming back to beat the Bucks for the fifth time in a row and get their longest winning streak overall in more than two years. Corey Brewer added 20 points, while Kenneth Faried added 13 points and rebounds for the Nuggets, who did not lead until late in the fourth quarter.
Dalembert finished 17 for 21 from the floor in surpassing his previous career high of 27 points on March 14, 2011, against Golden State while with Sacramento.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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