MIAMI — James Harden had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, Dwight Howard added 26 points and 10 boards, and the Houston Rockets stayed unbeaten, beating the Miami Heat 108-91 on Tuesday night. ADVERTISING MIAMI — James Harden had
MIAMI — James Harden had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, Dwight Howard added 26 points and 10 boards, and the Houston Rockets stayed unbeaten, beating the Miami Heat 108-91 on Tuesday night.
Trevor Ariza added 19 points for the Rockets (5-0), who used a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Chris Bosh scored 21 points for Miami (3-1). Dwyane Wade added 19, and Shawne Williams and Mario Chalmers each scored 12.
The Rockets outscored Miami 25-14 in the final quarter. Houston went 17 for 37 from 3-point range and now has 213 points from beyond the arc this season — as opposed to 198 points on 2-point baskets.
BLAZERS 101, CAVALIERS 82
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard snapped out of a shooting slump with 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers held LeBron James to just 11 in a 101-82 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Lillard was nursing an abdominal strain but had 15 points by halftime after averaging just 13.7 points on 11-for-41 shooting in the first three games. The All-Star averaged 20.7 points last season.
The Cavaliers, playing the first of a three-game Western Conference road swing, hadn’t played since a 114-108 overtime victory at Chicago on Friday. They started fast but were doomed by poor-shooting nights by James (4 of 12) and Kyrie Irving (3 of 17).
RAPTORS 100, THUNDER 88
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points, Patrick Patterson had 14 and the Raptors beat the depleted Thunder.
Lou Williams scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and Tyler Hansbrough got eight of his 12 at the free-throw line as the Raptors improved to 3-1.
Serge Ibaka had 25 points and 11 rebounds for a short-handed Oklahoma City team playing the second game of a back-to-back. Reggie Jackson added 13 points and a career-high 14 assists.
The Thunder began the game with eight active players and finished with six. Forward Perry Jones departed with an apparent right knee injury early in the second half, and guard Sebastian Telfair was ejected for a flagrant-two foul with 1:57 left after he struck Hansbrough in the face.
BULLS 98, MAGIC 90
CHICAGO — Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Magic despite playing without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters.
Rose missed his second straight game after injuring both ankles Friday against Cleveland. He took part in the morning shootaround and was listed as probable, but was taken out of the starting lineup about a half hour before the game after going through warmups.
Noah was ill.
Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, which is 0-4 for the first time since dropping its first six in 1990-91.
BUCKS 87, PACERS 81
INDIANAPOLIS — Brandon Knight had 23 points for Milwaukee, including a key jumper with 22 seconds left.
The Pacers shot 39.7 percent while playing without starters George Hill (bruised left knee), David West (sprained right ankle) and Paul George (fractured leg).
Milwaukee led 43-38 at the half and opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run. The Bucks led by as many as 17.
Chris Copeland scored 10 of his 19 points in the third quarter to help Indiana close to 69-61. He added one of his four 3-pointers with less than a minute to play, but Knight knocked down a 21-footer to help Milwaukee hold on.
WIZARDS 98, KNICKS 83
NEW YORK — Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple scored 17 points apiece, and the Wizards beat the Knicks for the fourth straight time.
Kevin Seraphin had 15 points for Washington, which pulled away with a 14-0 run in the third quarter and won its third straight game. Backup guard Andre Miller added 12 points.
Iman Shumpert scored 19 points for the Knicks (2-2), who had won their last two games. Carmelo Anthony had 18 points on 8-for-23 shooting.
The Wizards outscored the Knicks 32-15 in the third. They swept the series last season and haven’t lost to New York since April 9, 2013.
PELICANS 100, HORNETS 91
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis had 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, leading New Orleans to its first victory since its season opener.
Tyreke Evans added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who bounced back from Monday night’s 93-81 loss at Memphis. Ryan Anderson scored 16 points and Austin Rivers had 12.
The Pelicans (2-2) shot 46 percent and outscored Charlotte by 10 points in the second half when they turned the ball over just three times.
Charlotte (1-3) played without starting forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who bruised his ribs in a 96-93 loss at New York on Sunday. Al Jefferson led the Hornets with 20 points.
Suns 112, Lakers 106
LOS ANGELES — Gerald Green scored 26 points off the bench, Markieff Morris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns overcame Kobe Bryant’s 39-point performance to keep the Los Angeles Lakers winless with a 112-106 victory on Tuesday night.
Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points in a reserve role for the Suns, who survived a fourth-quarter surge led by Bryant to beat the Lakers for the second time in seven days.
Bryant went 14 for 37 for the Lakers, who are off to their first 0-5 start since the 1957-58 Minneapolis Lakers lost their first seven games.
Bryant’s third 3-pointer trimmed Phoenix’s lead to 106-104, but Eric Bledsoe hit two free throws before P.J. Tucker punctuated his season debut with the decisive 3-pointer in front of the Lakers’ bench with 19 seconds left.
By wire sources
