HOUSTON - James Harden scored 47 points and the Houston Rockets outlasted the Clippers 102-93 in a wild game that saw Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers ejected in the fourth quarter Wednesday night.
Houston was up by two with about two minutes left when former Rocket Patrick Beverley fouled out. Harden made both free throws before grabbing a rebound on the other end and hitting a 3 to make it 95-88.
Beverley was given a technical foul during a timeout after the play and Harden hit the two free throws.
Rivers was then given two technical fouls and ejected to the delight of son Austin Rivers, the Houston guard who laughed and signaled for the officials to T-up his father. Doc Rivers spent several more seconds screaming at the referees before slowly walking across the court and to the locker room.
Harden made both free throws before JaMychal Green made a 3 for Los Angeles. But Harden stole the ball from Kawhi Leonard, and Tyson Chandler made a reverse dunk with 37 seconds left to make it 100-91.
Leonard led the Clippers with 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Lou Williams added 20 points off the bench.
Russell Westbrook added 17 points to help the Rockets win their fifth straight game.
Clint Capela had 12 points and 20 rebounds before going to the locker room with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining after taking a blow to the face while fighting for a rebound. Capela has had at least 20 rebounds in three straight games to become the first Rocket to do that since Moses Malone in 1982.
Magic 112, 76ers 97
ORLANDO, Fla. - Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and seven Orlando players scored in double figures as the Magic came up with a big fourth quarter and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-97.
Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, and D.J. Augustin had 12 points and eight assists off the bench. Augustin, who was moved out of the starting lineup six games ago, played the entire fourth quarter.
Josh Richardson led the 76ers with 19 points. Ben Simmons added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The 76ers played without center Joel Embiid, who has a sore left knee.
Orlando made 11 of its first 16 shots, and led by eight points midway through the first quarter before losing their scoring touch.
A 3-pointer by Gordon at the halftime buzzer made it 53-all.
Two dunks by Simmons lifted the 76ers to an eight-point lead early in the second half while the Magic went more than 5 minutes without a field goal.
After a jump shot by Richardson put the 76ers up 84-80 early in the fourth quarter, Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the Magic took control with an 18-3 run.
The Magic shot 13 for 24 in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the 76ers shot 6 for 19 with seven turnovers.
Grizzlies 119, Hornets 117
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Ja Morant's winning layup left the rookie flexing and shouting at the crowd and sent father Tee racing down the sideline while pumping his knees high in the air, filled with excitement over his son's big moment.
Yep, Morant's homecoming game went about as well as he could have hoped.
With his parents sitting courtside and nearly 100 friends in the stands, Morant scored on a driving left-handed layup with 0.7 seconds left to give the Memphis Grizzlies 119-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. The South Carolina native had his first double-double with 23 points and 11 assists to help the Grizzlies win consecutive games for the first time this season.
"It definitely felt good," Morant said. "Coach called the play, they switched and I just attacked."
Morant got a chuckle at his father's reaction, but wasn't surprised.
"That just shows how much he loves the game and how excited he was," Morant said. "I looked and he was already at half court. I was like, 'Bro, your seat is down on the baseline.' But that's just him. He's always hype."
The Hornets battled back from 10 down in the fourth quarter to tie it on a 3-pointer by Devonte Graham from the top of the key with 22.7 seconds left. But after a timeout, Morant got a screen near the top of the key and drove left against Cody Martin and somehow got the layup to fall between three Hornets, including 7-foot center Cody Zeller.
"I was just trying to contest it," Zeller said. "He made a tough shot."
Morant wouldn't repeat what he said to the crowd.
"I'd rather not say," he said with a smile.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said the goal was to have Morant make a play coming out of the timeout.
"Try to put Ja in a position where he could attack one-on-one to score, maybe play make for someone else and then have Brandon Clarke go crash the offensive boards," Jenkins said.
Jonas Valanciunas was one of the beneficiaries of Morant's passes, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Marko Guduric had 17 points.
Terry Rozier tied a career high with 33 points on seven 3-points for the Hornets, who have lost four straight games. Graham, who entered the game leading the team in points and assists, had 19 points in his first start of the season.
The Hornets led by 12 in the third quarter before the Grizzlies went on a 22-5 run led by Morant.