James Harden drained eight three pointers en route to a season-high 40 points as the Houston Rockets won their first home game with a 115-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Harden added nine assists and seven rebounds and Chris Paul tallied 26 points for the Rockets, who had lost their first four home games of the season.
“It’s nice to get a win,” Paul said. “We’ve obviously been struggling, but we’ve got to keep building.” The win comes as the Rockets try to figure out what to do with journeyman Carmelo Anthony, whose poor play has mirrored the Rockets’ start.
Anthony, who is in his first year in Houston, sat out for the second straight game with what the team described as an undisclosed illness. US media is reporting that Anthony can expect to be waived soon.
Victor Oladipo had 22 points for the Pacers, who have lost three of their last four games. The Pacers went on a five point burst late in the fourth to cut the Rockets lead to just five, but Harden answered with two free throws to help put the game out of reach. “When we’re like that we’re going to score a bunch of points and if our defense can keep improving then we’re the team that we want to be,” coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Trail Blazers 100, Celtics 94
Damian Lillard scored 19 points and dished out 12 assists and Al-Farouq Aminu sank a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch as Portland beat Boston. Jusuf Nurkic scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won four in a row and seven of eight. Jayson Tatum scored a season-high 27 points and Kyrie Irving 21 for the Celtics, who have lost four of five.
Lakers 107, Hawks 106
LeBron James scored 26 points, including a put-back layup with 15 seconds remaining, and Kyle Kuzma added 18 as LA held off a late rally by Atlanta. In just his third game with the Lakers, centre Tyson Chandler blocked a shot by rookie Trae Young at the buzzer to seal the victory.
The Lakers improved to 7-6 to move over.500 for the first time this season. James had a chance to give the Lakers the lead from the free-throw line with 15 seconds remaining but missed both shots. Kuzma got the rebound, but missed a put-back shot.
James rebounded that miss and scored inside for the late lead. Taurean Prince scored 23 points and Kent Bazemore added 21 for the Hawks, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games and the seventh time in their last nine. Young had 20 points, 12 assists for Atlanta.
Magic 115, Knicks 89
Orlando scored the first 10 points and never trailed on the way to a 115-89 rout of the host Knicks. Orlando has won two straight and four of five while the Knicks lost by at least 20 points for the third time this season.
Terrence Ross scored a game-high 22 points for the Magic while Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes. New York native Mo Bamba had 15 points and eight rebounds in his homecoming while Evan Fournier added 12 points. Kevin Knox led the Knicks with 17 points while Enes Kanter recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Hornets 113, Pistons 103
Kemba Walker and Tony Parker each scored 24 points, leading Charlotte Hornets to a 113-103 win in Detroit. Cody Zeller contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Jeremy Lamb chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Hornets.
Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left the game in the second quarter with an ankle sprain. Andre Drummond recorded his fifth 20-20 game of the season with 23 points and 22 rebounds for Detroit.
Reggie Bullock supplied a career-high 23 points and Reggie Jackson tossed in 19 points with seven assists. Pistons forward Blake Griffin was ejected for a flagrant foul with 7:06 remaining. The officials ruled that Griffin made excessive contact against Malik Monk as the Hornets guard drove to the basket.
Bucks 121, Nuggets 114
Brook Lopez scored a season-high 28 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Milwaukee handed Denver its third consecutive loss. Khris Middleton had 21 points Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 for the Bucks.
Lopez hit a career-high eight 3-pointers, six in the third quarter when Milwaukee built a double-digit lead.
Paul Millsap scored 25 points to lead the Nuggets, who received 20 points from centre Nikola Jokic. Millsap added eight boards and six assists.