Tony Wroten had his first career triple-double, James Anderson scored a career-high 36 points and Spencer Hawes made the go-ahead basket with 34 seconds left in overtime to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Houston Rockets 123-117 on Wednesday night.
Wroten had career highs with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in his first start for injured rookie Michael Carter-Williams, who did not play because of a bruised left arch.
Jeremy Lin scored 34 points, making a career-best nine three-pointers. Dwight Howard had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Chandler Parsons added 22 points for Houston.
Lin started for James Harden, who was out of Houston’s lineup because of a bruised left foot.
Two days after the Sixers were blown out by San Antonio in coach Brett Brown’s first game against his former team, they beat general manager Sam Hinkie’s former club.
Hinkie spent the last eight years in Houston and was the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Rockets before moving to Philadelphia.
The Sixers are off to a surprising 5-4 start that includes wins over Miami and Chicago. They have been far more competitive than expected. Odds makers predicted they would have fewer than 17 wins.
The Rockets missed 10 straight shots from late in the fourth quarter into overtime before Howard’s basket plus free throw tied the game up with 2 minutes 21 seconds left in overtime.
After Lin hit a three-pointer for a 112-111 lead, Thaddeus Young made two free throws.
Howard answered with a bucket, but Hawes put in Evan Turner’s miss to give the Sixers the lead for good. Young stripped Howard at the other end and Turner made two free throws to extend the lead to 117-114.
Francisco Garcia then missed a three-pointer. After Anderson made two free throws, Lin made his last three-pointer to get the Rockets within two. However, Hollis Thompson sealed it with two free throws.
Turner scored 23 and Hawes finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Anderson made a three-pointer from the top of the circle to tie it at 106 with 6.6 seconds left in regulation time. After Parsons missed a long jumper, Wroten’s desperation 59-footer at the buzzer rattled the rim and fell out to send the game to overtime.
Down 90-80 to start the fourth quarter, the Sixers rallied behind Anderson and Hawes.
Hawes and Anderson hit three-pointers, and a turnaround jumper by Young pulled Philadelphia up to102-101 with 2 minutes 14 seconds left. Wroten’s driving layup tied it at 103.
Wednesday’s other results:
‧ Clippers 111, Thunder 103
‧ Timberwolves 124, Cavaliers 95
‧ Spurs 92, Wizards 79
‧ Knicks 95, Hawks 91
‧ Raptors 103, Grizzlies 87
‧ Bobcats 89, Celtics 83
‧ Magic 94, Bucks 91
‧ Kings 107, Nets 86
‧ J azz 111, Pelicans 105
‧ Nuggets 111, Lakers 99
‧ Trail Blazers 90, Suns 89
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