NBA: James Harden, Kyrie Irving outduel Paul George, Kawhi Leonard as Brooklyn Nets topple Clippers in Los Angeles

James Harden had 37 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Brooklyn Nets won their sixth consecutive contest with a 112-108 victory over the host Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.

Sunday night's NBA results

• Brooklyn Nets 112 - 108 Los Angeles Clippers

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points with eight assists as the Nets successfully completed a five-game road trip. They also improved to 7-0 against the Pacific Division this season.

Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan and Bruce Brown scored 13 each for the Nets. Jordan also grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded four blocks, while Brown had four steals.

Brooklyn's Kevin Durant (hamstring) missed his fourth straight game. The Nets lost forward Jeff Green with an apparent shoulder injury after a collision with Clippers guard Patrick Beverley with 2:50 remaining.

Paul George had 34 points and seven rebounds but sat out the game's crucial minutes down the stretch, possibly because he was on a minutes restriction.

Kawhi Leonard had 29 points with five 3-pointers and 13 rebounds, while Ivica Zubac finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Leonard's two free throws sliced the Nets' lead to 107-103 with 1:53 left.

After a free throw by Jordan gave Brooklyn a five-point advantage, a 3-pointer by Lou Williams and two more foul shots by Leonard tied the score at 108-all with 28.6 seconds left.

Jordan tipped in an Irving miss with 11 seconds remaining for a 110-108 lead.

Leonard committed an offensive foul with 8.1 seconds on the clock before Harden sealed the win with two free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining.

• Boston Celtics 115 - 120 New Orleans Pelicans (OT)

Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 34.4 seconds left in overtime, as the host New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics 120-115.

Zion Williamson had 28 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the largest comeback in New Orleans history. Josh Hart had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Lonzo Ball scored 16.

Jayson Tatum scored 32, Jaylen Brown had 25, Tristan Thompson and Kemba Walker added 14 each and Aaron Nesmith had 10 to lead the Celtics.

After an exchange of baskets to start the overtime scoring, Williamson made one of two free throws.

Brown made a layup to give Boston a 112-111 lead with 1:12 left. Ingram tied it with a free throw and added a 3-pointer to give the Pelicans a 115-112 lead.

Walker missed a 3-pointer and Hart hit two free throws for a five-point lead with 18.6 seconds left as New Orleans closed it out.

• Philadelphia 76ers 103 - 110 Toronto Raptors

Fred VanVleet scored 23 points and had nine assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 110-103 in Tampa.

Pascal Siakam also scored 23 points for the Raptors and had seven rebounds and eight assists. It was the 76ers second win in two games against the teams this season, after a 100-93 victory on December 29 in Philadelphia.

Chris Boucher scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter off the bench for the Raptors, who have won four straight. Norman Powell added 11 points and OG Anunoby had 10.

Ben Simmons scored 28 points for the 76ers, who have lost 16 straight road games against Toronto. Joel Embiid added 25 points and 17 rebounds for Philadelphia, Tobias Harris had 13 points and seven assists, and Seth Curry added 12 points.

• Denver Nuggets 115 - 123 Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young scored 35 points and Clint Capela added 22 as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the visiting Denver Nuggets 123-115.

Atlanta has won two of its last three games, while Denver has lost three of its last four.

Young was 10-for-19 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, and 15 assists.

It was the 11th time Young has scored 30-plus points. Capela was 8-for-9 from the field and had 10 rebounds for his team-leading 20th double-double.

The Hawks got 12 points off the bench from both Tony Snell, who hit four 3-pointers and Danilo Gallinari. John Collins added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Denver's Jamal Murray followed his 50-point game on Friday by scoring 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting. Nikola Jokic, effectively guarded all night by Capela, scored only three points in the first half and finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Facundo Campazzo scored 16 points and Will Barton III and Monte Morris both scored 15.

• Sacramento Kings 115 - 128 Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a double-double by halftime and he combined with Khris Middleton for 70 of the Milwaukee Bucks' points in a 128-115 win over visiting Sacramento.

Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 38 points and 18 rebounds while adding four assists. Middleton finished with 32 points while shooting 13 of 22 from the field and adding eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.

The Bucks won their second consecutive game after snapping a five-game losing streak. Sacramento dropped its seventh consecutive and played without leading scorer Harrison Barnes (left foot strain) for the third consecutive game.

Rookie Tyrese Haliburton led the Kings with 23 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds and was one of six Sacramento players to score in double figures.

• Minnesota Timberwolves 99 - 103 New York Knicks

Julius Randle hit the tying and go-ahead free throws with 32 seconds remaining as the host New York Knicks squandered a 21-point third-quarter lead before coming back for a 103-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Knicks were outscored 33-11 over a nearly 13-minute span beginning late in the third quarter before Randle's free throws began a game-ending sequence in which New York made all six of its shots from the line. Alec Burks made four of his own in the final 20.9 seconds.

Randle finished with a team-high 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won four of five. RJ Barrett scored 21 points while Burks added 13. Elfrid Payton had 11 points for New York, while Reggie Bullock and Nerlens Noel added 10 each.

The Timberwolves announced after the game that coach Ryan Saunders had been fired. He had a 43-94 record in parts of three seasons as head coach.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a game-high 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, including 15 points and nine rebounds during the fourth quarter when he led Minnesota's rally.

• Detroit Pistons 96 - 105 Orlando Magic

Nikola Vucevic poured in 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Orlando Magic topped the visiting Detroit Pistons 105-96.

Vucevic, who was coming off a 30-point triple-double Friday against the Golden State Warriors, was 14 of 27 from the field and made all seven of his free-throw attempts.

Evan Fournier supplied 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, who have won three consecutive games and four of five. Terrence Ross added 17 points off the bench, while no other Magic player had more than seven points.

Jerami Grant led Detroit with 24 points and five rebounds. Josh Jackson had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, while Saben Lee contributed 12 points, five assists and three steals. Saddiq Bey chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.

The teams will meet again in Orlando on Tuesday.

• Oklahoma City Thunder 117 - 101 Cleveland Cavaliers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points Sunday to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-101 win over the host Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was just the second victory in the last eight games for the Thunder and snapped a three-game losing streak, saving them from a second consecutive winless three-game road trip.

Cleveland has now lost 10 consecutive games.
Two nights after Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his toughest shooting games of the season, the Oklahoma City point guard finished 9 of 15, making all three of his 3-pointers and adding nine assists. The Thunder's bench played a big role in the win, as Hamidou Diallo scored 15 points and Mike Muscala added 13 as the Thunder's reserves outscored the Cavaliers' 42-9.

Collin Sexton led Cleveland with 27 points, Jarrett Allen added 26 and 17 rebounds, while Darius Garland scored 21. The rest of the Cavaliers' roster, though, scored just 27 points while shooting 27 per cent. Allen was perfect on 11 field-goal attempts.