The NBA returned to Los Angeles on Monday, and the home-town Clippers gave the city a needed feel-good moment by coming through with a 109-98 win over the Miami Heat.

James Harden scored 13 of his 26 points during a dominant third quarter that carried the Clippers to victory in one of the first two games held in Los Angeles since the community was impacted by widespread wildfires. The Lakers also returned home Monday but were dealt a 126-102 loss by the San Antonio Spurs.

The Clippers also received 29 points from Norman Powell and a 21-point, 20-rebound double-double from Ivica Zubac to bounce back after a run of four losses in a five-game stretch. Harden added 11 assists.

Tyler Herro amassed 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Miami, but the short-handed Heat had a three-game winning streak snapped while playing without stars Bam Adebayo (back) and Jimmy Butler (suspension).

The Heat did own a 48-43 advantage at half-time behind 18 points from Herro, but were outscored by a 36-20 margin in the third quarter as the Clippers went ahead for good.

Los Angeles never trailed after going on an 11-0 run midway through the quarter. Harden scored the first eight points of the surge before Powell capped it with a 3-pointer that snapped a 59-59 tie.

CLIPPERS WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/LSZZORnUmX
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 14, 2025

The Clippers put the contest out of reach shortly afterward by putting together an 18-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Derrick Jones Jr. had seven points during the sequence, which extended Los Angeles' lead to 88-70 with under nine minutes left.

Green has 42 points, go-ahead layup in Rockets' win over Grizzlies

Jalen Green capped a 42-point night with a go-ahead layup with 33.8 seconds left that helped the Houston Rockets to a 120-118 comeback win over the Memphis Grizzlies in a clash between two of the Western Conference's top teams.

Houston moved two games ahead of Memphis for second place in the West by overcoming a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. Green keyed the rally by scoring 20 second-half points while tying a career high for points in a game.

Amen Thompson had 12 of his 19 points in the final quarter to also aid Houston's comeback. He added 13 rebounds and the Rockets also received 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists from Alperen Sengun.

Ja Morant had 29 points for Memphis and Desmond Bane finished with 25 on 9-of-13 shooting, but the Grizzlies' defence broke down in the fourth quarter as Houston shot 68.8 per cent from the field over the final 12 minutes.

Memphis appeared on its way to victory after starting the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to build a 100-87 lead with under 10 minutes left. The Grizzlies' margin was eight points with 6 1/2 minutes to go before the Rockets embarked on a 10-0 spurt, capped by Fred VanVleet's 3-pointer that put Houston up 107-105 with 4:32 remaining.

The teams then traded the lead several times down the stretch until Green drove the lane and scored inside the final minute to give the Rockets a 116-115 edge.

Never give uppic.twitter.com/9Ck9mraISM
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) January 14, 2025

Memphis turned it over on the ensuing possession before Thompson hit two free throws, and VanVleet sealed the outcome shortly afterward by making two more foul shots after Morant missed twice from the free-throw line.

Cunningham, Pistons stay hot in win over Knicks

Cade Cunningham's 36 points and a pair of clutch late shots from Malik Beasley kept the surprising Detroit Pistons rolling with a 124-119 road win over the New York Knicks.

Beasley finished off a 22-point performance by making two 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds to close out the Pistons' 10th win in 12 games. Detroit has not made the playoffs since 2018-19 and had lost 16 straight meetings with the Knicks before a 120-111 win at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7.

Despite 31 points and 11 assists from Jalen Brunson and 26 points and 12 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks could not build off a dominating 140-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Mikal Bridges added 27 points in New York's fifth loss in seven games.

Detroit never trailed after Cunningham snapped a 74-74 tie with a pull-up jumper with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter, though its lead was just one after Bridges buried a 3-pointer with 1:26 left to play to pull New York within 118-117.

Beasley gave the Pistons some breathing room, however, by making a 23-footer with 39.1 seconds left. He hit another 3-pointer, this one with 6.3 seconds to go, to give Detroit a 124-119 advantage after Brunson's layup on the previous possession made it a two-point game.

Cade & Malik led the way through the Garden tonight pic.twitter.com/XGGe4mQhjC
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 14, 2025

Beasley went 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the first quarter to help the Pistons build a 37-26 lead after one period. The Knicks outscored Detroit by a 37-22 margin in the second, however, to own a 63-59 edge at half-time behind Brunson's 11 points for the quarter.