HOUSTON: James Harden scored 28 points, Clint Capela added 23 points with a career-high 25 rebounds and the Houston Rockets never trailed in a lopsided 130-104 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Harden had 11 assists and seven rebounds as Houston won its seventh straight and 11th of 12.
The Rockets had a double-digit lead for most of the game and held an advantage of 20 points or more throughout most of the second half. Harden didn’t play in the third quarter, and Capela and the rest of the starters sat down for good with about nine minutes left and the game out of hand.
Trey Lyles scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Rockets had a 27-point lead to start the fourth and a 14-6 run to open the quarter made it 111-76 with about nine minutes left. Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Gerald Green all made 3s in that stretch and Chris Paul scored the other five points.
Coach Mike D’Antoni took out most of his starters after that and Denver scored the next eight straight, with Torrey Craig and Lyles making four each, to cut the lead to 111-84 with seven minutes remaining.
The Nuggets had no answer for Capela, who had 16 rebounds by halftime. He grabbed his 20th to tie his previous career best with about five minutes left in the third.
Denver had a terrible night from long range, making a season-low three 3-pointers on 28 attempts.
The Rockets led by 16 early in the third quarter before using a 7-2 run to extend their advantage to 73-52 with about nine minutes left in the period. Capela led the way in that span with four points and Harden added a 3-pointer.
Nikola Jokic made a basket for the Nuggets after that before Harden scored the first five points of a 10-2 spurt that made it 83-56 with seven minutes left in the quarter. Houston still led by 27 at the end of the period, 97-70.
James Harden, Clint Capela lead Houston Rockets to 130-104 win over Denver Nuggets
James Harden, Clint Capela lead Houston Rockets to 130-104 win over Denver Nuggets
US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues
The US will invest $115 million in counter-drone measures to bolster security around the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, the latest sign of governments stepping up drone defenses.
The FIFA World Cup will be a major test of President Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the US secure, with over a million travelers expected to visit for the tournament and billions more watching matches from overseas.
The threat of drone attacks has become a growing concern since the war in Ukraine has demonstrated their lethal capabilities. And recent drone incidents have worried both European and US airports.
“We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Defense companies are developing a range of technologies aimed at countering drones, including tracking software, lasers, microwaves and autonomous machine guns.
The DHS did not specify which technologies it would deploy to World Cup venues. The announcement comes weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sits under DHS, said it granted $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to buy counter-drone technologies.
Last summer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called on Trump, a Republican, to bolster federal support for defending against drone attacks.
