James Harden had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Dwight Howard added 26 points and 10 boards as the Houston Rockets remained unbeaten with a 108-91 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
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.
Photo: AFP
Portland’s Damian Lillard snapped out of a shooting slump with 27 points as the Trail Blazers held Cleveland star LeBron James to just 11 in a 101-82 win over the Cavaliers.
Lillard was nursing an abdominal strain, but had 15 points by halftime. He averaged just 13.7 points on 11-for-41 shooting in the first three games.
Wesley Matthews finished with 21 points as the Blazers (2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak.
In Los Angeles, Gerald Green scored 26 points off the bench and Markieff Morris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, as Phoenix overcame Kobe Bryant’s 39-point performance to beat the Lakers 112-106 and keep Los Angeles winless.
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 1957-1958 Minneapolis Lakers lost their first seven games.
The Toronto Raptors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-88 after DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points and Patrick Patterson had 14.
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.
In other games, Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 87-81, the Washington Wizards downed the New York Knicks 98-83 and the New Orleans Pelicans were 100-91 winners over the Charlotte Hornets.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two