LOS ANGELES: James Harden scored 28 points and dished out 11 assists Thursday as the Houston Rockets handed the San Antonio Spurs a rare home NBA defeat, 102-91.
Harden showed no sign of a let-down after his historic 60-point triple-double on Tuesday, producing seven points in the final two minutes as the Rockets thwarted a Spurs rally to notch their second win this season over San Antonio.
Down by double-digits much of the contest, the Spurs pulled within 92-85 with 2:49 remaining with the aid of a hook shot from LaMarcus Aldridge and a three-pointer from Bryn Forbes.
The Rockets responded with a three-pointer form Harden, followed by his four-point play with 1:36 left.
“They’re great in this building,” Harden said of a Spurs team that endured just their fifth home defeat of the season. “We knew they were going to make a run. We held our composure, made some big shots, got some defensive stops when we needed to and that was the game right there.”
Gerald Green added 15 points for Houston. Clint Capela chipped in 14, Ryan Anderson scored 13 and Chris Paul and P.J. Tucker scored 10 apiece for Houston, who led 54-38 at halftime.
In Detroit, Blake Griffin produced a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds in his debut for the Pistons, who held off the Memphis Grizzlies 104-102.
Griffin, who admitted he was shocked to be traded by the Los Angeles Clippers this week, got a warm welcome from the Detroit crowd in pre-game introductions.
He delivered the pass to Anthony Tolliver for a three-pointer that gave Detroit a 101-100 lead with 1:49 to play.
Two free-throws from Tolliver stretched the Pistons lead to 103-100 with six seconds left and Reggie Bullock sealed with a final free-throw.
Andre Drummond, who promises to form a formidable front-court duo with Griffin, finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who are ninth in the East and hoping the arrival of five-time All-Star Griffin can help propel them into playoff position.
“It was great to get a win,” said Griffin, adding that things will only improve as he gets more familiar with his new teammates.
“We came in off of one shoot around,” he noted. “We’ll keep getting better from here.”
Gary Harris was the hero in Denver, draining a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Nuggets to a 127-124 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Denver led by as many as 20, and by 17 in the fourth quarter before the Thunder mounted a furious comeback, knotting the score at 124-124 on Paul George’s three-pointer with 5.6 seconds to play.
Denver responded as Nikola Jokic fired an inbound pass to Harris in time for him to make the game-winner.
Jokic notched his third triple-double of the season with 29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds.
Jamal Murray scored 33 points for Denver and Harris added 25 as the Nuggets shook off narrow defeats to Boston and San Antonio earlier in the week. They face the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
George scored 43 points for the Thunder and Russell Westbrook added 20 points with 21 assists and nine rebounds.
James Harden leads Rockets over Spurs
James Harden leads Rockets over Spurs
Muchova beats Mboko in Qatar final to end title drought
- Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings
DOHA: Karolina Muchova captured her first WTA 1000 crown and her first title since 2019 with an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
After battling back from a set and a break down in the semifinals against Maria Sakkari the previous night, Muchova, 29, was in fierce form against Mboko to clinch the biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a while since I won a tournament, so it’s nice to get that feeling again, to be reminded of that victory feeling again,” said Muchova during the trophy ceremony.
“I’d like to congratulate Victoria; you’re still a teenager but you play with so much maturity. I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you.”
A former French Open finalist, Muchova’s career has been hampered by injuries but she has started 2026 in fine fashion, amassing a 12-2 win-loss record over the past six weeks.
Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings, while Mboko guaranteed herself a top-10 debut on Monday by making the final.
Muchova put together a clean opening set, landing an impressive 75 percent of her first serves, and dropping just three points behind that first delivery.
The Czech faced zero break points across the 43-minute set and showcased her prowess at the net to take a solid step toward the title.
Mboko made adjustments on return in the second set, and managed to decode her opponent’s serve to carve a 4-2 gap but her advantage was short-lived as Muchova broke twice and wrapped up the contest in 94 minutes.
The 19-year-old Mboko has the most match wins on the women’s tour this season with 13 to just three defeats. She will rise to No. 10 in the world on Monday.
“It’s not the outcome I wanted but I think there’s many positives to take away,” said Mboko, who was competing in her fourth WTA final, and second at the 1000 level.
