PHILADELPHIA-James Harden scored 29 points, Dwight Howard had 21 points and 18 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-104 on Wednesday night.
Patrick Beverly added 16 points-all in the first half-and Trevor Ariza finished with 15 for Houston. The Rockets, who are currently holding the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, have won three of their last four to even their record at .500.
Ish Smith scored 21 points and Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington had 17 points apiece for the Sixers (8-56), who lost their 13th straight despite a big fourth-quarter rally.
Harden, who poured in 50 points in Houston's only other meeting with Philly this season, added nine rebounds and eight assists.
Hornets 122, Pelicans 113
CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Kemba Walker scored 35 points, and the Charlotte Hornets held off the New Orleans Pelicans 122-113 on Wednesday night for their 11th win in the last 13 games.
Walker shot 9 of 18 from the field and had five 3-pointers for his fourth-straight 30-point game. He also added seven assists and seven rebounds for Charlotte (35-28), which has won five straight during its recent playoff push.
Courtney Lee had 16 points and Nicolas Batum added 15 as all five Charlotte starters reached double figures in scoring midway through the third quarter.
Anthony Davis had 40 points and 13 rebounds, and Jure Holiday scored a season-high 38 points as the injury-plagued Pelicans fell to 7-24 on the road this season.
Walker came in averaging 30.8 points, 6.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds during the previous four games.
Celtics 116, Grizzlies 96
BOSTON-Isaiah Thomas scored 16 of his 22 points in the third quarter, when the Boston Celtics turned a three-point deficit into a 16-point lead before coasting to their 14th straight home victory, 116-96 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
The Celtics have not lost in Boston in more than two months, a span that has seen them climb from ninth in the East into the conference's No. 3 seed.
Two nights after surprising the East-leading Cavaliers-despite being without four starters-Memphis sustained a collapse that was exacerbated by the loss of guard Mario Chalmers in the third quarter to what the team called a right foot injury. Chalmers did not appear to sustain any contact before pulling up and then needing assistance off the court, unable to put any weight on his leg.
JaMychal Green had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Bucks 114, Heat 108
MILWAUKEE-Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and Khris Middleton made four free throws in the closing seconds to help the Milwaukee Bucks hold off the Miami Heat 114-108 on Wednesday night.
Jabari Parker added 23 points, Middleton had 22, and Miles Plumlee scored a season-high 18 for the Bucks. They snapped the Heat's winning streak at five games.
Luol Deng had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Miami. Hassan Whiteside added 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade, playing with five fouls, had 18 points.
After Wade scored on a fast-break layup to cut it to 110-106, Middleton made two free throws. Joe Johnson scored off a pass from Wade, but Middleton answered with two more free throws.