(The Sports Xchange) – James Harden scored 35 points and Trevor Ariza added 24 as the Houston Rockets completed a 104-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Houston’s Isaiah Canaan, starting for injured guard Patrick Beverley, added 13 points.
Center Dwight Howard contributed 11 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Rockets.
Guard Tony Wroten notched 20 points to pace the Sixers.
Canaan nailed three-pointers on consecutive possessions during a 12-2 flurry late in the game, when Houston extended a 90-84 lead to 102-86.
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Nets 116, Thunder 85
Brook Lopez returned to the starting lineup and scored 18 points and guard Deron Williams chipped in with 17 points and nine assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets to an easy 116-85 victory over the injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder.
Guard Alan Anderson also had 18 points and forward Mason Plumlee added 10, both off the bench, while guard Joe Johnson had 13 points as the Nets took the lead from the opening tap and raced out to the easy win.
Guard Reggie Jackson had 23 points, forward Perry Jones added 16 and forward Serge Ibaka 15 to pace the Thunder, who played without the injured NBA MVP Kevin Durant and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.
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Grizzlies 93, Pelicans 81
The Memphis Grizzlies remained unbeaten with a 93-81 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans as three Grizzlies players recorded double-doubles.
Center Marc Gasol led Memphis with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Power forward Zach Randolph notched his fourth double-double in as many games with 15 points and 11 rebounds and guard Tony Allen finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
New Orleans drew to 69-66, with 8:25 left to play but could get no closer.
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Mavericks 118, Celtics 113
The Dallas Mavericks survived a poor third quarter to hold on for a 118-113 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Dallas’ starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons combined for 56 points on 23-of-29 shooting.
Dallas was a study in ball movement and open shots in opening up leads of 21 points in the first quarter and 31 in the second but the Celtics shaved 18 points off a 26-point halftime deficit in the third quarter behind Jeff Green (35 points).
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Kings 110, Nuggets 105
Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison scored 21 points and center DeMarcus Cousins added 19 as the Kings held off the Denver Nuggets for a 110-105 win.
Carl Landry had 14 points off the bench and Reggie Evans had 14 rebounds for the Kings (3-1), who have won three straight after an opening-night loss to Golden State.
Arron Afflalo and JaVale McGee scored 16 apiece for the Nuggets (1-2), who dropped their second in a row despite having seven players score in double figures.
The teams combined for 80 free-three attempts and 63 fouls in a tight game where neither team led by more than seven.
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Clippers 107, Jazz 101
Blake Griffin scored 31 points, Chris Paul recorded a triple-double, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 107-101.
Paul finished with 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as the Clippers (3-1) beat the Jazz (1-3) for the 10th time in a row.
Los Angeles guard Jamal Crawford scored 19 points and passed the 15,000 mark for career points with a fourth-quarter bucket.
Forward Gordon Hayward had 27 points to lead Utah.
