NEW ORLEANS -- James Harden had 25 points and 10 assists, Dwight Howard had seven rebounds and a block on Anthony Davis in his return from a two-month absence, and the Houston Rockets handed New Orleans its fourth straight loss with a 95-93 victory on Wednesday night.
Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, but uncharacteristically missed eight free throws, including one that could have pulled New Orleans to 94-93 with 7 seconds left. The Pelicans still had a chance to try for a tying 3-pointer after Harden missed a free throw with 3.3 seconds left, but Corey Brewer intentionally fouled Eric Gordon on the inbounds pass to force free throws. Gordon made the first and purposely missed the second in hopes for a tying putback that never materialized.
Trevor Ariza had 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Donatas Montiejunas scored 21 for Houston, which overcame a 17-point first-half deficit.
Tyreke Evans scored 28 points for New Orleans in his return from a sprained ankle that had sidelined him for one game. Quincy Pondexter added 10 points, but New Orleans missed 12 free throws in a loss that prevented them from gaining any ground on Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans entered the night 3 1/2 games behind the Thunder, who were at San Antonio on Wednesday night.
After the game, Davis came back on the court and worked on free throws for about 10 minutes (see full recap).
Spurs end Thunder's streak with blowout win
SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker had 21 points and six assists, and the San Antonio Spurs stopped Oklahoma City's four-game winning streak with a runaway 130-91 victory over the Thunder on Wednesday night.
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Boris Diaw scored 19 points and Tim Duncan had 16 for San Antonio (44-26), which has won 11 of 13. Kawhi Leonard finished with 14 points in the Spurs' highest scoring game of the season.
Thunder star Russell Westbrook was held to 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting. He left midway through the third quarter with the Spurs leading by 30.
Westbrook was averaging 32.7 points, 11.2 assists and 9.6 rebounds in his previous 13 games, but the Spurs sent numerous defenders at the MVP candidate to hold him in check (see full recap).
Clutch FTs give Lakers OT win over Wolves
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jordan Clarkson hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in overtime to send the Los Angeles Lakers over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 101-99 on Wednesday night.
Clarkson scored eight points in overtime and finished with 20. Jeremy Lin added 19 points for the Lakers, who snapped a five-game road losing streak and won for the second time in three games.
Andrew Wiggins had 27 points for Minnesota.
Chase Budinger scored 22 and sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in regulation as the Timberwolves erased a 13-point, second-half deficit (see full recap).