NBA roundup: Sixers down Pacers for first win

James Harden compiled 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers to their first win of the season, a 120-106 decision over the Indiana Pacers.

Joel Embiid added 26 points and three blocked shots and Tobias Harris scored 18 points for the Sixers, who had dropped their first three contests.

Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 19 points and 10 assists and Buddy Hield scored 18 points. Jalen Smith also contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bennedict Mathurin also had 17 points.

After Mathurin hit a trey with 8:12 remaining, the Pacers trailed 99-90. Harden soon made consecutive treys to make it 109-95 with 5:21 left, and the cushion was large enough for the Sixers to cruise to victory from there.

Trail Blazers 135, Nuggets 110 Damian Lillard recorded 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Anfernee Simons scored 22 of his 29 points in the third quarter as Portland rallied for a victory over visiting Denver.

Jerami Grant scored 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who have opened the season with four straight wins for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Aaron Gordon scored 26 points on 12of-16 shooting for the Nuggets, who have split their first four games. Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points and Bones Hyland added 15.

Bulls 120, Celtics 102

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, Ayo Dosunmu added 22 and Nikola Vucevic notched 18 points and 23 rebounds to boost Chicago past visiting Boston.

The Bulls snapped a two-game skid while stopping the Celtics’ season-opening three-game winning streak. After trailing by as many as 19 points in the opening quarter, the Bulls led by 23 down the stretch.

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown added 21 points.

Raptors 98, Heat 90

Precious Achiuwa came off the bench to snatch a career-high 22 rebounds against his former team as Toronto won at Miami.

Fred VanVleet finished with 24 points and nine assists for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Toronto was without Scottie Barnes (ankle), but Chris Boucher made his season debut and scored 10 points in 12 minutes.

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with a game-high 26 points, but he didn’t take a fourth-quarter shot until there was less than one minute left. Tyler Herro added 22 points and 15 rebounds for Miami. Rockets 114, Jazz 108

Kevin Porter Jr. posted a double-double while Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr.