Gordon beats buzzer as Rockets slip past Sixers
Eric Gordon hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Houston Rockets to a 105104 win against the 76ers last night in Philadelphia.
The Sixers were sloppy down the stretch and used a series of bad decisions and bad plays to cough up a lead that had stretched to 11. Joel Embiid was whistled for goaltending, and the Sixers had Jerryd Bayless take a shot with the game still on the line instead of Embiid or Ben Simmons.
While the Sixers collapsed, the Rockets pounced and scored the final nine points.
Gordon scored 29 points, James Harden had 27 and Clint Capela had 16 points and 20 rebounds.
J.J. Redick scored 22 points, Embiid had 21 and Robert Covington 20 for the Sixers, who seemed in control until the final two minutes.
Both teams played without key cogs to their offense: Chris Paul was out again for the Rockets because of an injured left knee and Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 pick of the 2017 draft, missed the game because of a sore right shoulder. Fultz will miss the next two games and will be evaluated next week.
Nets 112, Cavaliers 107 — Spencer Dinwiddie made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds left after starting for the injured D’Angelo Russell, and Brooklyn Nets overcame LeBron James’ first triple-double of the season to beat Cleveland in New York.
James had 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in his 56th triple-double, but he missed two free throws — the second intentionally — with the Cavaliers trailing by two with 7.6 seconds remaining. DeMarre Carroll then hit a free throw and the Cavs’ long inbound pass intended for James went out of bounds.
Derrick Rose missed the game for Cleveland because of a sprained left ankle, and Dwyane Wade joining him after bruising his left knee in Tuesday’s victory against Chicago.
Pistons 122, Timberwolves 101 — Tobias Harris scored 34 points, Avery Bradley added 20 and host Detroit overcame another slow start to beat Minnesota.
Andre Drummond had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who im- proved to 3-2. All five De- troit starters reached double figures, as did reserve Henry Ellenson.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, while Andrew Wiggins added 21. The Timberwolves lost for the second time in two nights.
Spurs 117, Heat 100 — LaMarcus Aldridge continued his hot start by scoring 31 points, Rudy Gay added a season-high 22 off the bench and San Antonio stayed unbeaten by cruising in Miami.
The win was No. 1,154 for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, now one shy of matching Phil Jackson for sixth-most in NBA history.
Thunder 114, Pacers 96 — Paul George was held to 10 points against his former team, but Russell Westbrook’s triple-double (28 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists) picked up the slack and helped host Oklahoma City beat Indiana.
Hornets 110, Nuggets 93 — Frank Kaminsky scored 20 points off the bench, Dwight Howard had 15 points and 19 rebounds, and host Charlotte beat Denver.
Mavericks 103, Grizzlies 94 — Dennis Smith Jr. had 19 points and five assists and host Dallas got its first win of the season, beating Memphis.
Suns 97, Jazz 88 — T.J. Warren scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and energetic Phoenix improved to 2-0 under new interim coach Jay Triano with a victory against visiting Utah.