McCollum’s runner saves day for Blazers

DALLAS  – C.J. McCollum scored 32 points, the last two on a runner in the lane with 0.9 seconds left to give the Portland Trail Blazers a 114-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

McCollum’s shot capped a final minute in which the two teams traded leads six times and Dirk Nowitzki hit two clutch 3-pointers, the second a potential game-winner with 3.9 seconds left. McCollum scored Portland’s last seven points.

Damian Lillard added 29 points for the Blazers, who tied their season series with the Mavericks at 2-2 – each team winning twice on the others’ home floor.

Harrison Barnes had 26 points and Nowitzki 25 for Dallas.

The two teams, battling for the eighth and final playoff spot, seesawed through a tense fourth quarter, trading 13-0 runs at one point. Portland led 101-89 before the Mavericks answered the Blazers’ run with one of their own.

Neither team led by more than two points after that.

In Houston, James Harden had 25 points and 13 assists as the Houston Rockets built a big lead early and held off a late rally to get a 128-104 win over the Orlando Magic.

The Rockets had led by as many as 23 before the Magic begin chipping away at the lead. Serge Ibaka made a turnaround jump shot midway through the fourth quarter to cut Houston’s lead to nine points. Harden grabbed a bad pass from Evan Fournier not long after that and dished to Eric Gordon, who finished with a three-pointer. Trevor Ariza added a three-pointer for Houston to extend the lead to 112-97 with about four minutes remaining to put the game away.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Hornets snapped a seven-game losing streak as they held onto a 111-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Charlotte (24-28) had not won since a Jan. 21 triumph over Brooklyn. The Nets (9-43) dropped their 10th straight, and still have not won since a Jan. 20 victory at New Orleans.