HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden had 50 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, scoring 11 points during a big fourth-quarter run to lead the Houston Rockets to a 126-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Harden grabbed his 10th rebound with less than 90 seconds left to give him his second triple-double this season and the 37th of his career.
LeBron James finished with 29 points for the Lakers, who had won their previous two games.
It was the first meeting between these teams since Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo got into a fight on Oct. 20 that led to suspensions for both players and Brandon Ingram. There wasn't an altercation this time around in a game where Rondo sat out as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken right hand. But there was a spate of technical fouls late in the third quarter that led to the ejection of Nene.
SPURS 125, CLIPPERS 87
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and San Antonio won its fourth straight, topping Los Angeles for its largest win of the season.
Rudy Gay added 21 points and DeMar DeRozan had 14 points and seven assists for San Antonio.
The Spurs held an opponent under 100 points for the third straight game while winning the first four games of a six-game homestand.
Tobias Harris had 17 points for Los Angeles and Danilo Gallinari and Avery Bradley added 15 apiece. The Clippers have lost two straight and four of five.
SUNS 99, MAVERICKS 89
PHOENIX (AP) — T.J. Warren scored a season-high 30 points and Phoenix snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating Dallas.
The Dallas loss came in the season debut of Dirk Nowitzki, who hadn't played yet while recovering from ankle surgery. When he entered the game late in the first quarter, it marked his 21st season with the Mavericks, most by a player with one team in NBA history.
Phoenix beat the Mavericks for the seventh straight time. The Suns have just five wins this season and two have come against Dallas.
The Mavericks were beaten in the season opener 121-100, also in Phoenix. Both games were late tips on national television.
Dallas, which had won three straight and eight of 10, made only 5 of 33 3-pointers.
Jamal Crawford added 17 points and Josh Jackson 14 for the Suns. Trevor Ariza had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
MAGIC 97, BULLS 91
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nikola Vucevic scored 26 points, including a tiebreaking jumper with 28 seconds remaining, and Orlando snapped a three-game losing streak in its first of two games in Mexico.
Vucevic shot 11 for 21 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds, while D.J. Augustin added 15 points for the Magic.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points but the Bulls (6-23) lost for the 10th time in their last 11 games and remained with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
After Lauri Markkanen tied it at 91 with 1:06 left to play, Vucevic nailed a 15-foot jumper to put the Magic ahead and Augustin iced the game with four free throws in the final seconds.
The game was the NBA's 27th in Mexico, and Orlando will play Utah on Saturday. Only the United States and Canada have hosted more.
