Harden scores, dishes as nets get past Blazers

MANILA, Philippines — James Harden scored 25 points and matched his career high of 17 assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 116-112 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Jeff Green scored 20 points and Joe Harris added 17 as the Nets won for the 16th time in the past 18 games. Nicolas Claxton recorded 16 points and nine rebounds and fellow reserve Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 11 points as Brooklyn prevailed in the opener of a three-game road trip.

The Nets were without Kyrie Irving, who is skipping the trip due to a family matter. Kevin Durant remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Damian Lillard scored 22 points with nine assists and Enes Kanter registered 19 points, 19 rebounds and six assists for Portland. The Trail Blazers lost their second straight following a stretch in which they won seven of nine.

Elsewhere, Julius Randle scored 37 points as host New York rolled past struggling Washington, 131-113, handing the Wizards their seventh loss in eight games.

It was Randle’s fifth time scoring at least 30 points this season, and his big performance helped the Knicks bounce back from an overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Randle made 13 of 24 shots and tied a career with seven 3-pointers.

Bradley Beal scored 22 points for the Wizards, who got 14 points and 12 assists from Russell Westbrook.

Nikola Jokic collected his second triple-double in as many games with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as visiting Denver beat Orlando, 110-99.

Jamal Murray had 21 points, Will Barton added 17 and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 18 for the Nuggets, who have won nine of their past 11 games and nine straight against Orlando. P.J. Dozier had 14 points off the bench to help Denver extend its road winning streak to six games by taking the opener of the three-game trek.

Evan Fournier sank five 3-pointers to highlight his season-high-tying, 31-point performance for the Magic, who have dropped 11 of their last 12 games. Nikola Vucevic had 18 points (on 8-for-25 shooting) and Al-Farouq Aminu added 17 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

Brandon Ingram scored 36 points and Zion Williamson added 27 as host New Orleans routed depleted Los Angeles, 128-111.

The Lakers remained without injured All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points, Kira Lewis Jr. had 16, Jaxson Hayes had 15 and Steven Adams scored 12 as the Pelicans ended a seven-game losing streak against the Lakers. New Orleans won its second straight game despite the absence of Lonzo Ball (hip flexor strain) for both contests.