NEW YORK—A D’Angelo Harrison pull-up 3-pointer off the fast break started a 12-3 run late in the game as St. John’s broke away from DePaul 86-78 on Wednesday night.Harrison finished with a season-high 33 points, shooting 10 of 14 from the field, including 6 of 8 3-pointers, and 7 of 7 at the foul line to go with 10 rebounds.Phil Greene added 18 points and Sir’Dominic Pointer and Rysheed Jordan scored 15 apiece for St. John’s (16-8, 5-6 Big East).Jamee Crockett broke a 4 1/2-minute scoring drought for DePaul (12-14, 6-7) with a fast-break layup at 2:23 left. The Blue Demons went to full-court pressure and forced a couple of turnovers to score six unanswered points, closing to 78-73. The rally ended when Pointer leapt to swat away Tommy Hamilton’s dunk attempt.Hamilton and Billy Garrett scored 18 each for DePaul.Jordan hit a pair of free throws and Harrison dunked as the Red Storm reasserted control.

A lack of consistent playing time can send a young player into a funk, but Tony Snell claims not to care how much he’s on the floor.

”All that matters is that I’ve got to stay ready,” Snell said. ”If I go in, just try to do the best I can. If not, cheer my team on.”

The second-year guard was ready Tuesday night, pumping in a career-high 24 points on 9 for 11 shooting to help the Bulls to a 104-86 rout of the Sacramento Kings.

”I’ve been through it last year. It’s nothing new,” Snell said about playing time. ”You never know when your name gets called. I’ve got to make sure I’m ready when my name gets called.”

Pau Gasol continued his strong play with 26 points and 16 rebounds – his NBA-best 34th double-double of the season and 13th straight – and Derrick Rose added 23 points in a turnover-free performance.But it was Snell’s play that stood out. Besides his scoring, Snell started the second half in place of Jimmy Butler (strained right shoulder) and played strong defense on Sacramento’s Rudy Gay.

”I think he’s taking good shots, good rhythm shots,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Snell. ”That’s the big challenge: shoot when you should and pass when you should. I like that a lot. He had a great rhythm there and he had a tough matchup, too, when Jimmy went down. Rudy Gay is not an easy guy to guard. That puts enormous pressure on you and I thought he played well on both sides of the ball.”

The Kings (18-33) have dropped 12 of 14. Gay led Sacramento with 24 points, but was held to nine points on 3 for 8 shooting in the second half.Snell was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers. His previous high was 20 points.The trio of Snell, Gasol and Rose combined to go 30 for 43 (69.8 percent) from the field as the Bulls (33-20) won their third straight.The Bulls, who had a 57-49 halftime advantage, broke the game open in the third, beginning the second half with a 23-8 run for an 80-57 advantage with just under three minutes left in the quarter.Gasol had 13 points during the run.

”We tried to stop it with timeouts, but it didn’t help,” Kings interim coach Tyrone Corbin said. ”They just made shots and runs.”

The Bulls took an 84-64 edge into the final quarter. Sacramento rallied to trim the deficit to 13 at 92-79 with 5 1/2 minutes to play, but that was as close as it got.

NOTES—Jimmy Butler didn’t play in the second half after suffering a right shoulder strain in the first half. … Guard Kirk Hinrich (left turf toe) missed his second straight game … Guard/forward Mike Dunleavy returned to the starting lineup after missing 19 games with a right ankle injury….Besides trying to turn things around on the court, the Kings had to address reports on Tuesday that George Karl is near a deal to replace interim coach Corbin…..”I’ve been through a lot on my career,” Corbin said. ”It’s a difficult time, but it’s part of the job.”….Kings center DeMarcus Cousins also tried to clarify his stance on the team’s coaching situation two days after a postgame rant was interpreted as him not being in support of Karl being hired. ”I don’t fire coaches or hire them,everyone knows I liked and respected Coach (Michael) Malone. I didn’t want (Malone’s firing in December) to happen.”I’m not involved in any coaching decisions right now. I’ve heard that George Karl is a great coach. If that is the direction that the organization chooses, I’ll support it.”….The Bulls host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

EVANSTON—Travis Trice might stay in a reserve role for Michigan State. He could return to the starting lineup.Whatever happens, the senior guard provided a big boost for the Spartans on Tuesday night.Trice played off the bench for the second time this season and had four of Michigan State’s season-high 13 3-pointers, leading the Spartans to a 68-44 victory over lowly Northwestern.

”I don’t know. It’s not game to game,” coach Tom Izzo said when asked about Trice in a reserve role. ”There’s some good things about it. There’s still some things that I struggle with myself about it. But it needed to be done for his sake and ours.”

Trice, who started Michigan State’s previous eight games, finished with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes. The co-captain averaged 11 points on 33 percent shooting in his previous six games.

”I was just happy to see the ball go through,” he said. ”That’s all that really mattered to me.”

Denzel Valentine scored 14 points and Bryn Forbes had 11 for the Spartans (16-8, 7-4 Big Ten), who bounced back from a 59-54 home loss to Illinois on Saturday. Branden Dawson finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

”We just came out with intensity and energy on the defensive end,” Dawson said. ”We just sent a statement.”

Northwestern (10-14, 1-10) shot 36 percent (15 for 42) in its 10th consecutive loss. Tre Demps led the Wildcats with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

“Very disappointing night,” coach Chris Collins said. ”Tonight hasn’t been indicative of how we’ve played in terms of effort and fight and competitiveness. I don’t know what it was, I can’t explain it. We didn’t have it tonight.”

Michigan State used its outside shooting and stifling defense to put Northwestern away in the first half. Forbes and Marvin Clark Jr. each hit two 3s as the Spartans scored 22 consecutive points to open a 38-13 lead with 1:40 to go.Demps’ foul shot with 46 seconds remaining was Northwestern’s only point in the final 10:46. Demps was 4 for 7 from the field in the first half while the rest of the Wildcats were 0 for 15.

”They had more energy than us the whole game,” said forward Vic Law, who had nine points and seven rebounds for Northwestern.

Valentine opened the second half with another 3, and the Spartans led by as many as 35 on their way to their sixth consecutive victory over the Wildcats. Valentine also had a nice fast-break lob to Dawson for an alley-oop jam with 5:19 to go.

NOTES-Izzo improved to 32-4 all-time against Northwestern and also moved into a tie with former Purdue coach Ward Lambert for third on the career Big Ten victories list with 228. Bob Knight is on top with 353 Big Ten wins with Indiana, and Gene Keady is second with 265 conference wins at Purdue. …The Spartans have not lost consecutive games this season…..Former NU forward Drew Crawford was greeted with a loud ovation when he was introduced in the first half. Crawford, who graduated last year, ranks second in school history with 1,920 career points. … The last three losses of Northwestern’s slide have been by at least 15 points.The Wildcats played without starting guard JerShon Cobb, who was out with a right foot injury. Sophomore forward Nathan Taphorn missed his seventh consecutive game with a right foot injury.Cobb also was sidelined for five consecutive games in December due to various injuries. The 6-foot-5 senior was shut out in 16 minutes in Saturday’s 65-50 loss at No. 5 Wisconsin and is averaging 5.8 points in 18 games after he was second on the team last season with 12.2 points per game.Collins said Cobb and Taphorn could return on Sunday against Iowa.Dawson played a key role in Michigan State’s fast start. The senior had seven rebounds and each of his four blocked shots in the first half.

”Dawson was unbelievable early,” Izzo said. ”He defended, he rebounded. He had rebounds above the rim. He started our fast break. Blocked shots started our fast break. He was the big difference.”
NU hosts Iowa on Sunday.

The Arizona Coyotes were delighted to pull out a win by the narrowest of margins.Antoine Vermette scored in regulation and netted the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout to lift Arizona to a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Monday night.Lucas Lessio also connected in the shootout, and Arizona’s Shane Doan scored in regulation to help the Coyotes snap a two-game losing streak. Oliver Ekman-Larsson assisted on both of Arizona’s goals.But this one barely made it to the tiebreaker, thanks to a wild finish in overtime.

”We’ll take it as a break and move on,” Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. ”Entertainment at its finest right there.”

Antti Raanta had to make a point-blank save on Doan, who skated in alone with 30 seconds left in overtime following a Hawk turnover.With 16 seconds remaining, Arizona’s Mike Smith got a piece of a shot by Andrew Shaw. The puck trickled away from him and almost slid completely across the goal line before it was cleared.As play continued, Brandon Saad hit the crossbar with a shot seconds later.The action didn’t stop until the overtime period expired. Shaw’s shot then went to a video review, and an overhead angle didn’t conclusively show that the puck crossed the line.Replays showed the puck just inches shy of going over the line.Others showed the puck DID barely cross the line.

”I heard it was so close our video guy really couldn’t say,” Tippett said. ”Looking at it, that’s probably as close as you can get without having a goal, right there.”

Smith finished with 36 saves through overtime, then was beaten only by Patrick Kane in the shootout.He was especially happy to be credited with a stop on Shaw’s tricky shot from the left circle – then lunge along with a pile of teammates to keep the puck out of the net.

”It was the biggest scramble of this season, for sure, by me,” Smith said. ”I couldn’t believe the spin the puck had to get there, but it was kind of desperation.”It was too close to tell from my angle. Obviously, we got a break and won the shootout.”

Marian Hossa scored two goals for the second straight game, and Jonathan Toews set up both. Hossa recorded the Hawks final two goals in a 4-2 win at St. Louis on Sunday. Before this run, he had just two goals in 15 games.Hossa’s second goal on Monday, with 7:42 left in the third, sent it to overtime.

”He was good, and scoring obviously last night helped him there,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”That line got a little more production tonight off of, probably, feeling good.”

But it wasn’t quite enough to allow the Blackhawks to earn two points.

”Well, we’ll take a point, when you’re down particularly late in the third period,” Quenneville said. ”We’ve done a pretty good job this year of getting it to overtime and finding a way to get the extra one.
”Tonight, we couldn’t have come any closer.”

Raanta finished with 27 saves, but stopped only one of three shots in the shootout.The Blackhawks came out flat as they skated at home for the first time in three weeks following a seven-game trip that concluded with a pair of key intra-division wins, at Winnipeg on Friday, and Sunday over the Blues.The Hawks went 4-3 on the long swing, sandwiched around the All-Star break. The Blackhawks routed the Coyotes 6-1 in their last game at the United Center on Jan. 20.Hossa put the Hawks ahead 1-0 with 7:16 left in the second and one-timed a shot from just outside the crease. Toews shoveled a backhanded pass from the right corner in front, and Hossa buried the puck past Smith.Doan was credited with a power-play deflection that tied it 1-1 with 2:37 remaining in the period. With Kane sitting for unsportsmanlike conduct, Keith Yandle’s drive from the top of the right circle ticked off Doan, who was tied up with Keith in front of the crease.The Coyotes took a 2-1 lead on Vermette’s deflection at 3:59 of the third after the Blackhawks failed to clear the puck from their zone. Ekman-Larsson’s low shot from the left point struck Vermette’s stick near the hashmarks, then fluttered over Raanta’s shoulder.But Hossa struck again with 7:42 left in the third to tie it 2-2.

NOTES—Blackhawks F Kris Versteeg, out since Jan. 1 with a fractured left hand that required surgery, could return on Wednesday against Vancouver, Quenneville said. Versteeg was having a resurgent season before the injury, playing on a line with Kane and Brad Richards, and posting nine goals and 18 assists in 34 games. … In a moment of silence before the game, the Blackhawks honored (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald beat writer Mike Spellman and senior off-ice official Paul Ruck, who had been with the team since 1952. … Arizona C Martin Hanzal (six games) and C Joe Vitale (seven games) remained out with upper-body injuries.

ORLANDO—At the end of an up-and-down road stretch, the Bulls trudged into the final stop of their six-game trip hoping to sustain a bit of momentum with the All-Star break fast approaching.Mission accomplished – thanks to some late-game assistance from the Orlando Magic.Pau Gasol dunked in the rebound of Derrick Rose’s missed layup with 9.4 seconds left, and the Bulls rallied for a 98-97 victory over the Magic on Sunday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Gasol finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 18 points and nine rebounds.The Bulls led by as many as 16 points, before finding itself in a six-point hole with just over 2 minutes to play.

”Today we started out like we want to play, like we were going to take another step (forward), but it was almost a step back,” Gasol said. ”Let’s face it – we got away with one.”

The Magic had two opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds. But Nik Vucevic’s hook rolled off the rim, and Tobias Harris overshot a potential game-winning tip-in as time expired.

”You want to be a good team, you’re going to have to find different ways to win, and that’s what I did like about tonight,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Victor Oladipo led six Orlando players in double figures with 18 points. Harris added 15, and Vucevic 14.After playing catch-up for most of the second half, Orlando benefited from a frenetically played fourth quarter.Elfrid Payton scored his sixth consecutive point on a driving layup to put the Magic in front 92-91 with 3:43 remaining.That was followed by a steal and 3-pointer from Channing Frye, and layup by Oladipo that extended that lead to 97-91.The Bulls came up empty on their next offensive trip, but Butler stepped in front of Oladipo’s pass as Orlando came down the floor, forcing Harris to grab him and commit a clear-path foul.Butler hit both free throws, then on the ensuing possession found Rose free for a 3-pointer at the top of the key to pull Chicago within 97-96.Orlando’s Evan Fournier then got caught in a trap at halfcourt and was called for a backcourt violation with 15.5 seconds left.Coming out of a timeout, Rose drove around Kyle O’Quinn in the corner, and nearly rolled in a floater. But Gasol was there for what turned out to be the game-winner.

”Winning doesn’t just happen. You’ve got to execute. It’s a 48-minute game,” Magic interim coach James Borrego said. ”We didn’t execute well enough down the stretch to get the win tonight.”

NOTES—The Bulls had 27 assists on 37 made field goals. … Mike Dunleavy (right ankle) missed his 19th straight game. Kirk Hinrich sat out with a left turf toe injury he sustained against New Orleans on Saturday…..Gasol notched his 12th double-double in a row, extending a career high. He leads the NBA with 33 this season. In 2010-11, he set a career high with 43 double-doubles. He tied Memphis’ Zach Randolph for the longest streak in the NBA this year. Among Bulls players in the last 35 seasons, his streak is second only to Michael Jordan, who had 15 in 1988-89…..The Bulls host Sacramento on Tuesday.

ST. LOUIS—Marian Hossa’s power-play goal broke a third-period tie and he clinched it with an empty-netter for the Blackhawks in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.Bryan Bickell had a goal and assisted on the go-ahead tally for the Hawks, who also got a goal from Marcus Kruger.Vladimir Tarasenko and David Backes had a goal apiece for St. Louis, which never led and has lost two straight since a franchise-record 13-game point streak. They’re 20-5-2 at home.Standing room attendance of 19,657 was the Blues’ 11th sellout and included thousands of red-clad Blackhawks fans.Hossa’s 11th and 12th goals were his first points in six games. Jay Bouwmeester was off for hooking when Hossa whistled a one-timer past Brian Elliott at 11:19 for a 3-2 lead.Tarasenko tied it at 2 on a breakaway early in the second, getting Corey Crawford to commit with a couple of forehand fakes and then slipping the puck into the net for his team-leading 28th goal and fourth in five games.The Blackhawks briefly regained the lead when Bickell pounced on a rebound in the slot and beat Elliott at 11:25 of the second but the Blues answered 1:28 later when Backes scored his 18th goal on a rebound while Crawford was occupied by a fallen T.J. Oshie in the crease.Kruger’s fifth goal on a 2-on-1 break opened the scoring at 4:38 of the first. It was his first point in 20 games and first goal in 28 games since Dec. 3 against the Blues at home.

NOTES—The Hawks start an 8 game home stand tomorrow night against Arizona…Daniel Carcillo earned his 100th career assist on Kruger’s goal. … Tarasenko has four goals in five games. … Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has 691 career wins and needs one to tie Dick Irwin for fourth on the career list. … The Blackhawks lead the season series 2-1. … Crawford is 12-2-0-3 against St. Louis.

NEW ORLEANS—Anthony Davis stood in a hallway outside the Pelicans’ and Bulls’ locker rooms, wearing a gray sweatsuit and smiling as he engaged Tom Thibodeau in a good-natured postgame chat.After a hard, awkward fall on an alley-oop dunk had sidelined Davis with a sore right shoulder, the All-Star’s demeanor could be seen as an encouraging sign for New Orleans – and the NBA. The dangling, empty right sleeve of Davis’ sweatshirt – the result of his arm being tucked in a sling – was more worrisome.Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose helped Bulls break open a close contest following Davis’ departure from the game, and the Bulls cruised to a 107-72 victory Saturday night.

”Anthony’s a player that makes a big difference, so it was a tough hit for them to take,” said Gasol, whose 20 points and 15 rebounds helped the Bulls snap a three-game skid.”We knew that we just had to stay at it and be aggressive on both ends of the floor and that’s what we did.”

Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Bulls, who went on a 40-11 run after Davis went out.Pelicans coach Monty Williams said the extent of Davis’ injury may not be known until Sunday, when he was expected to be examined further. The Pelicans play at home on Monday and Wednesday nights before the All-Star break.

”He says he’s a bit sore right now. He couldn’t move his arm the way he needed to, so we got him out,” Williams said. ”He kept saying he was OK … but the doctors didn’t feel good about getting him back out, so we’ve got to get more evaluation and we’ll have a better update”

Sunday.The dunk that drove Davis from the game was a two-handed jam of Tyreke Evans’ lob. Davis’ body swung like a pendulum as he held the rim, then the 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward fell horizontally as he lost his grip.Davis stayed in the game briefly before taking himself out with the score tied at 35 and 4:16 left in the first half.

”New Orleans took a big hit when Anthony Davis went down, so that is a tough one, but you have to keep going,” Thibodeau said. ”Pau Gasol was really strong and really unselfish.”

Tony Snell scored 19 points and Jimmy Butler 18.Evans had 15 points for New Orleans, while Alexis Ajinca scored 10.With Davis in the locker room, the Bulls closed the first half on a 13-4 run that included two 18-foot jumpers by Gasol, Rose’s 3 and Taj Gibson’s putback dunk that made it 48-39.The Bulls then blew the game open by starting the third quarter on a 27-7 run that included 3s by Snell and Gasol.Butler’s dunk put the Buls ahead 75-46 with 3:56 left in the period.The Pelicans never got as close as 20 after that and trailed by as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter – a considerable letdown on the heels of Friday night’s dramatic victory in Oklahoma City in which Davis capped a 41-point night with a game-winning 3 as time expired.

”They had a great emotional win last night, and it’s always hard to come back the next day, especially, and bring great effort or great accuracy into the game,” Gasol said. ”It happens.”

NOTES—Mike Dunleavy missed his 18th straight game because of a Jan. 1 right ankle injury. … The Bulls outrebounded New Orleans 45-38.The Pelicans have now lost two straight at home, where they’re 17-8 overall. … New Orleans attempted only seven free throws all game, hitting 4. … Ryan Anderson, who came in averaging 15.1 points, made only one of 11 shots, missing all five from 3-point range….The Pelicans began the game by missing their first seven shots and did not score until Evans’ transition layup with 8:31 to go in the first quarter, but New Orleans still led 20-18 after the first quarter because the Bulls shot only 30.4 percent (7 of 23) for the period. The Bulls wound up shooting 51.2 percent (43 of 84), including 10 of 22 from 3-point range. New Orleans shot only 37.2 percent (32 of 86) and was 4 of 17 from deep…..The Bulls visit Orlando on Sunday.

WINNIPEG—Brandon Saad was in the right place to send the Blackhawks to victory.Saad scored in overtime to help the Blackhawks snap a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. ”The puck found a way to me right in front and it was an easy tap,” Saad said of his 16th goal of the season. ”My eyes opened pretty big there. I was pretty excited to get that puck.” Patrick Kane also scored for the Blackhawks, while Corey Crawford made 20 saves in a game that had a postseason-type intensity for some. ”They just play that type of game,” Crawford said. ”Everyone on their side plays hard, they play physical and it just seems like there’s no room. They just run all over the ice.” Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets, who entered on an 0-4-1 skid since the All-Star break and were outscored 23-11 during that span.Winnipeg announced before the game that Evander Kane, a healthy scratch in Vancouver on Tuesday night, will undergo left shoulder surgery and be out of the lineup for four to six months.With Kane out and options limited at forward, coach Paul Maurice moved All-Star defenseman Dustin Byfuglien back to the wing, where he started the season. ”He had an injury to take care of and he did it,” Byfuglien said. ”Whoever is putting the jersey on, we have to stick together. … We’ve got to worry about our games.” Scheifele opened the scoring 4:17 into the first period, forcing a turnover by David Rundblad on the forecheck and beating Crawford to the top corner. ”I thought there were a lot of good things,” Scheifele said. ”I thought we were back to our physicality.” Patrick Kane tied it 2:50 into the second period when he broke in alone, went to his backhand and roofed it over a sprawling Michael Hutchinson for his 26th goal. It was Hawks first goal in 149 minutes and 25 seconds. ”It was nice to get that first one, especially when you haven’t scored in a couple of games,” Kane said. Daniel Carcillo returned to the Blackhawks’ lineup after serving a six-game suspension for a cross-check on Jets forward Mathieu Perrault on Jan. 16. It took only 67 seconds for Carcillo to drop the gloves with Winnipeg’s Chris Thorburn. Jets forward Anthony Peluso attempted to fight Carcillo in the second period, but ‘Car Bomb’ didn’t oblige.Hutchinson got the start in all three previous meetings between the clubs, posting a 1.00 goals-against average and .971 save percentage. NOTES: The Blackhawks were shut out in their previous two games, the first time that happened since a three-game drought in October 2006. … Jets forward Patrice Cormier, who was recalled from St. John’s on Thursday after Evander Kane was placed on the injured reserve, didn’t play.

HOUSTON—Tom Thibodeau watched in disappointment as Houston Rockets guard James Harden picked apart his team’s defense. ”Guys like that, you’ve got to guard them with your whole team, and they still have the ability to make,” Thibodeau said. ”You have to stay the course against them.”

Harden’s 27 led the Rockets to a 101-90 victory over the Bulls on Wednesday night. Fifteen came in a pivotal second quarter that helped the Rockets build a lead that they never relinquished.The Bulls lost their third straight game for the first time all season and have now lost four of five. The Rockets have won five of six.Harden overwhelmed the Bulls in the second, menacing small forward Jimmy Butler in multiple one-on-one battles to score 13 consecutive points in the fading minutes of the first half.He was more excited about the Rockets’ defense that held a versatile Bulls offense to just 90 points.

”Every night, that’s our motto is to be aggressive,” Harden said. ”We have so many guys that can come in and play that we don’t worry about getting tired.” Fatigue and a lack of consistent effort seemed to be a common theme in the locker room following the loss. ”We can’t afford to have those lulls,” Thibodeau said.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Derrick Rose scored 23, playing in his 12th consecutive game for the first time since the 2010-11 season. ”It shouldn’t be anywhere near this, knowing how talented we are and knowing how much guys really want to win,” Rose said. ”We’ve got time, but we’ve got to figure out a way out.” Despite the win, the Rockets missed Dwight Howard‘s boards. The center was out for a fifth straight game with a right knee injury and the Bulls big men dominated the glass, 60-47.

Joakim Noah pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds in 32 minutes. However, he had just one point, finishing 0 for 8 shooting. ”We’re playing hard in spurts, but we just can’t do it for 48 minutes right now,” Noah said. ”We’ve got to figure it out or it’s going to be a long year.” In all other categories, however, the Rockets owned the Bulls big men, outscoring the Bulls 50-28 in the paint and notching eight blocks to just five from the Bulls, who entered the game as the league’s leaders in blocks at 6.7 per game. ”I thought we tried to attack the basket well, especially early,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. ”We weren’t getting to the line very much, but we just kept attacking.”

NOTES—Paul Gasol had a double-double in his 10th consecutive game, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. … F Mike Dunleavy missed his 17th straight game with a right ankle injury suffered on Jan. 1…..Trevor Ariza complemented Harden’s performance with 20 points, matching Harden’s 3-for-5 line from beyond the arc. … Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon sat courtside, next to the broadcast table with former Rocket Shane Battier and former Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy…..Harden earned his second consecutive West Conference Player of the Month award, becoming the first player in Rockets franchise history to win in consecutive months. Harden averaged 25.8 points, 6.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, leading the Rockets to an 11-6 record in January…..The Rockets turned the ball over just six times, compared to 12 from the Bulls. Harden attributed the improvement to the team’s newfound decisiveness and confidence in their decisions….The Bulls visit New Orleans on Saturday before finishing a six-game road trip in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

Corey Petros scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Oakland to a 91-77 win over UIC on Wednesday night.Khalil Felder had 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven assists and five boards and Jalen Hayes had 16 points and 10 assists for Oakland (12-12, 7-2 Horizon). The Golden Grizzlies shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the 3-point line.Paris Burns finished with 20 points and nine assists, Ahman Fells had 19 points and eight rebounds and Markese McGuire added 16 points, including 4-of-5 3-point shooting for the Flames (5-19, 1-8).After pulling ahead by three at the midway mark, Oakland quickly stretched the lead to double digits two minutes into the second, and did not allow the deficit to drop below that, leading by as many as 22. UIC has lost 8 in a row.