HOUSTON (AP) – James Harden had 36 points and 13 assists and the Houston Rockets routed Golden State, 129-112, on Wednesday night, sending the short-handed Warriors to their sixth loss in eight games this season.
Harden again appeared to be moving past his early shooting woes, going 6 of 16 from 3-point range. Since going 17 of 79 on 3s in his first six games, Harden has made 13 of 32 the last two.
Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. P.J. Tucker had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Clint Capela added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Austin Rivers was 4 for 4 from 3 with 12 points.
Alec Burks led Golden State with 28 points. Eric Paschall had 19 points, and Glenn Robinson III added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Already reeling from injuries to Splash Brothers Stephen Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (knee surgery) and the loss of Kevin Durant, the Warriors were without D’Angelo Russell (sprained ankle) and Draymond Green (index finger) for a third straight game.
BUCKS 129, CLIPPERS 124
In Los Angeles, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 16 rebounds, George Hill scored 24 off the bench and Milwaukee repelled every threat in beating Los Angeles for its fourth victory in a row.
The Bucks hit 18 3-pointers, led by six from Hill.
Antetokounmpo just missed a triple-double with nine assists. He’s posted at least 10 rebounds and five assists in each of the first eight games this season, the first player to do that since at least 1972-73.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, who rested for the first half of a home back-to-back. He’ll play against Portland on Thursday night.
Montrezl Harrell had a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds in his first start of the season. Lou Williams added 34 points and 11 assists, and Patrick Beverley had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers’ first home loss.
Led by Hill and Kyle Korver with 14 points, the Bucks’ reserves outscored the Clippers’ bench 47-20.
JAZZ 106, 76ERS 104
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell had 24 points and eight assists and Utah handed Philadelphia its second straight loss after a 5-0 start.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points, Rudy Gobert had 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, and Joe Ingles scored a season-high 16 points.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead the 76ers in his return from a two-game suspension. Josh Richardson added a season-high 24 points. Ben Simmons did not play in the second half because of right shoulder soreness after bumping into Royce O’Neale’s chest while posting up on a first-quarter play.
RAPTORS 124, KINGS 120
In Toronto, Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and Toronto beat Sacramento.
Serge Ibaka scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and OG Anunoby had a season-high 18 for defending champion Toronto. The Raptors won their fifth straight over the Kings.
Harrison Barnes had 26 points for Sacramento. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 13 of his 22 in the fourth quarter, and Buddy Hield added 21.
MAVERICKS 107, MAGIC 106
In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 27 points and Dallas drew two charges on Aaron Gordon in the final minute, helping the Mavericks beat Orlando.
Trying to protect a one-point lead, the Mavericks had two of their 17 turnovers on consecutive possessions before each of the fouls on Gordon, who was trying to drive on the first call and attempting to make a move at the 3-point line on the second.
Doncic also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
Gordon led Orlando with 23 points, but had just two after halftime.
PISTONS 122, KNICKS 102
In Detroit, Tony Snell scored 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting in Detroit’s victory over New York.
Andre Drummond had 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Markieff Morris added 22 points to help Detroit beat New York for the eighth straight time. The Pistons played without injured Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose and Reggie Jackson.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 20 points. They are an NBA-worst 1-7.
GRIZZLIES 137, TIMBERWOLVES 121
In Memphis, Dillon Brooks scored 31 points, rookie Ja Morant added 26 and Memphis Grizzlies held onto a lead to beat Minnesota.
Rookie Brandon Clarke made all seven of his shots and scored 18 points, and Jae Crowder also had 18 points for Memphis. The Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 30 points. Karl-Anthony Towns returned from a two-game suspension for a confrontation with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid to finish with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
PACERS 121, WIZARDS 106
In Indianapolis, T.J. Warren scored 21 points to help Indiana beat Washington.
Doug McDermott scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and Domantas Sabonis returned after missing two games with a left calf contusion to finish with 13 points and tie his career high with 17 rebounds. Indiana played for third time in four nights.
Bradley Beal had 30 points for the Wizards.
BULLS 113, HAWKS 92
In Atlanta, Tomas Satoransky scored 27 points in Chicago’s victory over Atlanta.
Starting his second straight game in place of John Collins, Jabari Parker led the Hawks with 18 points. Collins is serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s doping policy.
