James Harden scores 60 points in 3 quarters of Rockets' win

James Harden produced a 60-point performance in a huge Houston Rockets win, while the Milwaukee Bucks' run continued in the NBA on Saturday.

Harden went 16-of-24 from the field, and eight-of-14 from three-point range, in the Rockets' 158-111 thrashing of the Atlanta Hawks.

The star guard only played 31 minutes in the Rockets' victory as it improved to 13-6 in the Western Conference.

Ben McLemore had a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook contributed 15 points.

The Bucks made it 11 straight wins by beating the Charlotte Hornets 137-96.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 points and nine rebounds) once again starred for the Bucks, who hold a two-game lead atop the Eastern Conference.

Embiid, Simmons lead the way for 76ers

Joel Embiid had a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers' 119-116 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Ben Simmons contributed 15 points and 13 assists in the victory.

The Bucks' bench stepped up as Khris Middleton (15), Dragan Bender (12), Ersan Ilyasova (11), D.J. Wilson (11) and George Hill (10) combined for 59 points.

Trae Young has starred for the Hawks this season and the guard had 37 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the big loss to the Rockets.

Jokic unable to lift Nuggets

Nikola Jokic struggled, going three-of-11 from the field for seven points in the Denver Nuggets' 100-97 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Hot Harden

Harden had 29 points in the third quarter in his huge performance.