James Harden scores 21, joins 29,000-point club in Cavaliers’ win over 76ers

By Canadian Press on March 9, 2026.

CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden scored 21 points to become the ninth player in NBA history with more than 29,000 career points, Keon Ellis added 19 off the bench, and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 115-101 victory over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Donovan Mitchell had 17 points and six assists, and Evan Mobley had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. Harden reached the milestone with a free throw in the first quarter, finishing the game with 29,017 points in 17 pro seasons.

Cleveland is 8-1 at home since Jan. 23, with its lone loss Sunday to surging Boston, and has won 18 of its last 24 overall. The Cavaliers are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind New York.

Quentin Grimes scored 17 points and Cameron Payne had 12 points for Philadelphia, which has lost two in a row and four of its last five to slip into eighth in the East. Justin Edwards added 14 points.

NETS 126, GRIZZLIES 115

NEW YORK (AP) — Day’Ron Sharpe matched a season high with 19 points, Ochai Agbaji added 18 and Brooklyn beat the injury-plagued Memphis for their second straight victory.

Nolan Traore added 17 points for the Nets, who were coming off an improbable 107-105 win at Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on Saturday night that snapped a 10-game skid.

The Nets, who rested leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., had six players score in double figures. The Grizzlies had only eight players available.

Rayan Rupert scored a career-high 20 points and Javon Small added 19 for Memphis, which has lost four straight and 11 of 14.

THUNDER 129, NUGGETS 126

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to cap a frantic final minute on a night he matched Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive 20-point games, and Oklahoma City beat Denver.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and a career-high 15 assists, becoming the second player in NBA history to have those totals and zero turnovers. He also had nine rebounds. In the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander reached the 20-point mark for the 126th straight game, equaling Chamberlain’s streak from 1961-63.

With Oklahoma City leading 126-122, Denver’s Nikola Jokic hit a 3-pointer and Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams was called for an off-ball foul fighting through a screen. Jamal Murray made the free throw with 8.5 seconds remaining to tie the game.

Gilgeous-Alexander responded, elevating over Spencer Jones for his second 3 in the final 14 seconds. Denver’s Aaron Gordon missed a 61-foot heave at the buzzer.

The Thunder are 6-0 since Gilgeous-Alexander returned from an abdominal strain that sidelined him for nine games.

Williams scored 29 points and Ajay Mitchell, in his return after missing 20 games with an abdominal strain and a sprained left ankle, added 24 points.

Jokic had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. It was his 24th triple-double of the season and the 188th of his career. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points and Gordon added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.

The Associated Press