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Celtics steal win from sloppy Thunder

Houston Rockets guard James Harden drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)

Portland, Ore. • James Harden scored 42 points and the Houston Rockets snapped the Portland Trail Blazers’ 13-game winning streak with a 115-111 victory on Tuesday night.

Portland’s winning streak was tied for the second-longest in franchise history. The team also won 13 consecutive games in 2007.

Chris Paul added 22 points for the Rockets, who have won six straight and 23 of their last 24 and have the best record in the NBA.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 22 points, including six 3-pointers, for Portland. The Blazers had also won nine straight at the Moda Center.

Harden and Trevor Ariza each hit 3-pointers to stretch Houston’s lead to 110-102. Harden added another 3-pointer with 1:55 left and it seemed Portland was out of it.

But the Blazers rallied with a 9-0 run, capped by CJ McCollum’s floater with 28 seconds left to pull within 113-111.

Paul went to the line with 1.3 seconds left and made both shots. After a timeout, Lillard tried a 3-pointer but it missed.

Celtics 100, Thunder 99 • In Boston, Marcus Morris made a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left and the Boston Celtics stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-99 on Tuesday night.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Morris added 21 points as Boston snapped the Thunder’s six-game win streak.

Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, which fell apart in the closing minute.

Boston took an 82-81 lead in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Shane Larkin, who finished with 17 points off the bench.

The Thunder missed 15 of their first 21 3-point attempts before making four straight to go back in front 93-89.

Boston closed to 99-97 on a 3 by Terry Rozier, and quickly fouled Carmelo Anthony with 7.7 seconds remaining. Anthony missed both attempts and the Celtics gathered the rebound.

Out of the timeout, Tatum dribbled across the lane and found Morris on the wing for the go-ahead 3.

Timberwolves 123, Clippers 109 • In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns racked up 30 points and 10 rebounds for his NBA-best 60th double-double and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points in an all-around performance, leading Minnesota over Los Angeles.

Jeff Teague pitched in 20 points and 12 assists for the Timberwolves, who swept the four-game season series and sent the weary Clippers to their fourth consecutive loss on the commencement of a four-game, six-night trip.

Jamal Crawford scored 20 points and Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds as the Timberwolves pushed their lead over the Clippers (37-33) to three games. With five losses in their last seven games, the Wolves (41-31) had fallen into eighth place in the Western Conference. Denver (38-33) is in ninth.

DeAndre Jordan led the way for the Clippers with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but Tobias Harris played with flu-like symptoms and finished with only 10 points on 5-for-16 shooting, missing all five of his 3-point tries.

Pelicans 115, Mavericks 105 • In New Orleans, Anthony Davis scored 37 points, and New Orleans overcame the absence of second-leading scorer Jrue Holiday to beat struggling Dallas.

Rajon Rondo added 19 points and 14 assists, and Ian Clark also scored 19 points for the Pelicans, who are in a tight, seven-team race for one of the final five Western Conference playoff spots.

Davis made 15 of 21 shots, helped by Rondo setting him up for several easy baskets inside. New Orleans shot 52.7 percent (48 of 91) as a team.

Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes each scored 19 for the Mavericks, who’ve lost three straight and four of five.

Raptors 93, Magic 86 • In Orlando, Fla., Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and Toronto used a strong fourth-quarter defensive effort to beat Orlando.

Toronto limited Orlando to 3-of-19 shooting (15.8 percent) in the fourth quarter, helping the Raptors overcome an eight-point deficit and win for the 12th time in their last 13 games. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and Deion Wright and Norman Powell had 10 apiece for Toronto.

Shelvin Mack led Orlando with 17 points. Aaron Gordon, returning after missing five games with a concussion, added 16 points. Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which has lost seven of its last eight.