BOSTON — Five days after ending the Toronto Raptors’ 12-game home winning streak, the Houston Rockets ended the Boston Celtics’ 14-game streak on Friday night.
James Harden scored 32 points, including nine in the final 3:09 to ice the game, to lead the Rockets to their third straight road victory, a 102-98 win over the Celtics.
Boston’s home winning streak was the franchise’s longest since an 18-game run in 1990-91 — it’s longest at TD Garden.
The Celtics, playing a four-guard offense after losing forward Jae Crowder to a right ankle sprain in the third quarter, used an 8-0 run to cut a 10-point deficit to two with 6:17 left. The Rockets (33-32) then used a 10-4 spurt to maintain control, but needed Harden’s free-throw shooting to put the game away.
The Celtics thought they had cut their deficit to four when Avery Bradley stole the ball and laid it in. but he touched the ball on the rim, leaving the Houston lead at six with 30.2 seconds remaining.
The loss was only the sixth in the last 23 games for the Celtics (39-27), who hold down the third spot in the East. The Rockets are sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference.
Houston forward Michael Beasley scored 10 of his 18 points in the first 3:44 of the fourth quarter to give the Rockets a 10-point lead.
Beasley also had eight rebounds despite playing just under 15 minutes.
Center Dwight Howard added 12 points and 12 rebounds and 6-foot-1 point guard Patrick Beverley matched his career high with 12 rebounds and also had four assists to go with eight points.
Guard Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 30 points, forward Jared Sullinger, the only bigger player working with the four guards, had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Evan Turner came off the bench and recorded nine assists and seven boards.
Thomas, who had just one turnover over the previous four games, was guilty of six and had only two assists in the game.
Houston took a 34-32 lead with 6:17 left in the first half and never trailed after that.
NOTES: Teammates are starting to push G Evan Turner for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. F Jared Sullinger sent out a tweet Wednesday night lauding Turner. “I try my best to be efficient and play the right way,” said Turner, who was averaging 10.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. … Boston F Kelly Olynyk’s injured right shoulder still wasn’t ready and he missed his 11th straight game. … Former Bulls head coach and Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau was at Boston’s Thursday practice. … The Rockets came in leading the league in forced turnovers since the All-Star break. The Celtics had committed the fewest turnovers during the same span. … Houston F/C Donatas Motiejunas, kicked in the shin on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, was able to play.
76ers 95, Nets 89
PHILADELPHIA — Seldom-used forward Carl Landry scored 16 points as the depleted Philadelphia 76ers hung on to beat the Brooklyn Nets 95-89 on Friday night, snapping a 13-game losing streak.
Nerlens Noel added 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sixers, who improved to 9-56. The NBA’s worst team, they can no do no worse than equal the worst full-season record in league history, the 9-73 mark of Philadelphia’s 1972-73 team.
The Sixers, whose last victory had come over the Nets on Feb. 6, never trailed. They led by 19 points in the second quarter, 15 in the third and 11 with 6:46 left in the game.
They did so despite the continuing absence of rookie center Jahlil Okafor. The team announced earlier in the day that he would require knee surgery and miss the rest of the season.
The Sixers also lost three players to injury in the third quarter, and saw Brooklyn creep within four, 87-83, on a 3-pointer by Wayne Ellington with 4:16 left in the game.
Landry then sandwiched baskets around a free throw by Brook Lopez, and a layup by Noel gave Philadelphia a 93-84 lead with 1:40 to play.
Landry, appearing in just his 23rd game of the season, scored half his points in the fourth quarter.
Okafor, Philadelphia’s leading scorer (17.5), will undergo surgery to repair a small tear of the meniscus in his right knee, according to a team announcement. He had not played the previous five games.
Then Philadelphia lost its two starting forwards, Robert Covington and Jerami Grant, on a single sequence with 9:40 left in the third quarter. Nets guard Donald Sloan, driving from the left corner and passing to teammate Thaddeus Young under the basket, accidentally undercut a leaping Grant, whose right foot caught Covington in the face.
Covington and Grant both fell to the floor, and Young fell on Grant’s head. Grant limped off, and was later evaluated for a concussion.