Chandler Parsons scored 17 points, Omri Casspi added 16 and Jeremy Lin 14 as the Houston Rockets overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 93-86 on Monday night.
Houston (10-5) trailed for most of the night and their 93 points were a season low, but the Rockets made a 14-2 run early in the fourth quarter, pushing ahead 67-65 on a pair free throws by Casspi with 8 minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
The Rockets played without All-Star guard James Harden, who missed his second straight game with a sore left foot. They have won five of their past six.
It was the Grizzlies’ first full game since center Marc Gasol was lost indefinitely to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
Memphis (7-7) had a 46-32 lead early in the third quarter, but could not hold it down the stretch.
Tayshaun Prince led Memphis with 16 points.
Houston’s offense was missing a considerable chunk of its scoring without Harden, who is averaging 24.2 points per game.
The Rockets had a miserable offensive first half without him, turning the ball over 11 times and shooting just 11 of 32 from the field (34.4 percent), including one of 11 (9.1 percent) from three-point range.
The Grizzlies closed the second quarter on a 15-6 run to take a 44-32 halftime lead.
Houston finally found some rhythm in the second half, hitting five three-pointers after starting one of 14 from behind the arc.
The bench was key in the run, with Francisco Garcia hitting a three-pointer to tie it at 65-65.
Casspi scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Parsons had nine. Parsons shot eight of nine from the field.
The Rockets shot 23 of 37 (62 percent) in the second half.
Memphis coach Dave Joerger said the team’s offense would change considerably with Gasol out of the lineup and at least for one night, it changed for the worse.
Gasol said pre-game he expects to be on crutches for three to four weeks before he can even start work on his return.
Kosta Koufos started in place of Gasol and had a productive night, with eight points and a season-high 13 rebounds, but Mike Conley, the Grizzlies’ leading scorer with more than 19 points per game, had a tough night, shooting just two of 14 from the field, finishing with 10 points and 10 assists.
Also on Monday, Manu Ginobili had 16 points to lead seven players in double figures as the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-93 for their 11th straight victory.
Tony Parker had 14 points and seven assists, Tiago Splitter added 11 points and Tim Duncan had 10 points for San Antonio (13-1).
Reserve Marco Belinelli had 14 points, Boris Diaw added 13 points and Patty Mills 12 to keep the Spurs undefeated at home.
Ryan Anderson had 17 points, Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday each added 12 points, while Anthony Davis had 10 for New Orleans (6-7).
Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double this season as the Trail Blazers beat the slumping New York Knicks 102-91 for their 11th straight victory.
Utah’s Trey Burke made a key three-pointer to help the Jazz outlast Chicago 89-83 in overtime — the Bulls’ first game since learning Derrick Rose would be lost for the season.
Burke, a rookie finally enjoying extensive playing time after spending most of the season recovering from finger surgery, had 14 points and six assists. He also had five turnovers and shot five for 17, but was on the court in clutch time directing the Jazz to their second win of the season.
Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 16 rebounds, while Luol Deng added 24 points for the Bulls.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, George Hill scored a season-high 26 points and Paul George had 11 of his 26 points during the decisive run to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 98-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Indiana have won four straight since losing in Chicago and are 13-1 for the first time in club history, remaining perfect in eight home games this season.
The Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Bobcats 96-86 for their second straight victory after Jordan Crawford had 21 points and reserve Gerald Wallace added a season-high 17.
Brandon Bass scored 16 points and Phil Pressley had a career-high eight assists for Boston (6-10).
Kemba Walker had 28 points to lead the Bobcats (7-8).
LeBron James scored 35 points on only 14 shots from the field, while Dwyane Wade added 21 points and 12 assists to lead the Miami Heat over the Phoenix Suns 107-92 for their seventh straight win.
In Monday’s other games, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 110-96 and the Detroit Pistons were 113-94 winners over the Milwaukee Bucks.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe