Rockets Edge Mavericks for 3-0 Lead in First-Round Series

The Rockets’ Josh Smith, who finished with 18 points, passing against the Mavericks’ Charlie Villanueva on Friday. Houston won, 130-128. Credit Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Harden set his playoff career high and hit 40 points with a 3-point play on a layup after Dallas had cut an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to 1.

After Harden fouled Nowitzki on a 3-point attempt and Nowitzki hit all the free throws, Harden hit a jumper over Tyson Chandler. The ball rattled off the rim, hit the backboard and dropped back in for a 129-126 lead with 12.7 seconds remaining.

The Mavericks had one more chance, trailing by 2 points with 6.7 seconds left, but Ellis was not close, missing to the right of the rim.

More concerned with protecting the rim after Howard and Josh Smith combined for five dunks off alley-oop passes in a key run in Game 2, the Mavericks let Harden have his shots. He found a rhythm and did most of his damage without his usual load of free throws, making 15 of 24 from the field.

Howard had 14 of Houston’s 23 rebounds in the first half and helped on the offensive end in the fourth quarter, getting 7 of his 13 points.

When Dallas focused on slowing Harden in the second half, Corey Brewer hit two corner 3-pointers and scored 13 of his 15 points. Harden had 9 assists, including a nifty pass for an easy dunk by Smith, who had 18 points.

The Mavericks were playing without Rajon Rondo two days after Coach Rick Carlisle said he had a previously undisclosed back injury while acknowledging that he did not think Rondo would play for Dallas again. The announcement came after Carlisle benched Rondo for almost the entire second half of Game 2.

Dallas trailed by 12 points in the first quarter and 11 in the fourth before Nowitzki brought the Mavericks back with 16 fourth-quarter points in his highest-scoring playoff game since the final game of Oklahoma City’s first-round sweep in 2012.

WIZARDS 106, RAPTORS 99 John Wall had 19 points and 15 assists, Paul Pierce hit key late 3-pointers, and host Washington closed in on a first-round playoff sweep with a win over Toronto.

Six Wizards scored in double figures, including Marcin Gortat, who had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Pierce’s 18 points were highlighted by one 3-pointer that capped a 10-2 run with two minutes left, and another with 16.3 seconds remaining after Toronto drew to 3 points behind.

The Wizards lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series by three games to none and can end it Sunday at home.

Paced by DeMar DeRozan, who scored a team playoff-record 20 points in the first quarter and 32 over all, Toronto led by as many as 10 points early. But the Raptors were too inconsistent, just as they had been all series