NBA-Highlights of Monday's NBA games

Dec 22 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Monday's National Basketball Association games: - - - Bulls 129, Raptors 120 Chicago chased the Toronto Raptors for most of the game before Chicago put up a franchise-best 49 points in the fourth quarter to secure a victory. Led by starting Chicago (18-9) guards Derrick Rose (29 points) and Jimmy Butler (27 points, 11 rebounds), the Bulls outscored the Raptors -- the top team in the Eastern Conference -- by 12 in the final quarter. Kyle Lowery scored a game-high 34 points, and center Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points for Toronto (22-7). - - - Hawks 105, Mavericks 102 Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder scored 22 points to lead a balanced attack in the Hawks' win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Hawks (20-7) earned their fourth consecutive win and 13th in the past 14 games. Atlanta is in second place in the Eastern Conference. The Mavericks (20-9) lost despite 13 points and 11 assists from Rajon Rondo who was playing his second game since being acquired in a trade. - - - Spurs 125, Clippers 118 Tony Parker dropped 26 points on the Los Angeles Clippers, leading the Spurs to a victory that snapped a four-game losing streak. Parker returned to his spot at point guard, after missing eight of the last nine games with a strained left hamstring, as San Antonio (18-11) earned a season-high output in points and assists with 37. Chris Paul led the Clippers (19-9) with 25 points and nine assists. - - - Rockets 110, Trail Blazers 95 James Harden poured in 44 points in a whirling dervish performance to carry the Houston Rockets to a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Harden added seven assists and five steals to help the Rockets (20-7) snap a modest two-game home losing skid. He had 31 points by the intermission, capping his fabulous first half with a buzzer-beating driving layup that pushed the Rockets to a 76-56 halftime cushion. The Trail Blazers (22-7) had their five-game winning streak snapped. - - - Hornets, 110, Nuggets 82 Al Jefferson scored 22 points in less than three quarters of action, and the Charlotte Hornets cruised to their third straight win with a victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Hornets (9-19) never trailed, leading by as many as 23 in the first half and then pushing the lead to as many as 30 in the second. - - - Jazz 97, Grizzlies 91 Alec Burks scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 as the Jazz wrapped up their six-game pre-Christmas road trip with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies (21-7) played without injured starters Tony Allen and Zach Randolph. It was the Grizzlies' third game in four days and Memphis' third consecutive loss -- the franchise's longest losing streak since December 2013. (Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)