Harden, Westbrook team up for 72 as Rockets cruise past Jazz

LOS ANGELES, USA – James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 72 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz on the road for the second time in 4 weeks, winning 120-110 in the NBA on Saturday, February 22 (Sunday, February 23, Philippine time). 

Harden scored a team-high 38 points and added 5 rebounds and 7 assists while Westbrook scored 34. It was Harden’s sixth three-pointer with 2:13 remaining that silenced the Jazz for good. 

Utah had cut a 16-point deficit to 115-108 before Harden nailed a long three-pointer that lifted Houston to its seventh win in the last 9 contests for a 36-20 record. 

Eric Gordon and Ben McLemore scored 12 points apiece off the bench for the Rockets, who finished 20 of 48 from behind the arc at Vivint Smart Home Arena. 

72 COMBINED for Harden & Russ!

@JHarden13: 38 PTS
@russwest44: 34 PTS pic.twitter.com/GvtbyMxg1x

— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2020

It was the Rockets’ three-point prowess that set the late tone with McLemore, Austin Rivers and Gordon all connecting from long range to spark a 17-5 run after Utah closed to within 83-80 on a three-point play from Mike Conley. 

Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 31 points while Jordan Clarkson added 22 off the bench. 

Utah scored 64 points in the paint, but that wasn’t enough to counter the Rockets’ explosive shooting. 

Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a wire-to-wire 119-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Antetokounmpo shot 12-of-17 from the field for the Bucks, who have won 21 of 24 games since losing 121-109 to Philadelphia on Christmas Day.

The victory kept the Bucks at least 6 games ahead from the rest of the field with a league-best 48-8 record. – Rappler.com