Parker’s 24 carries Charlotte
Tony Parker scored 24 points, Kemba Walker had 24 points and seven assists and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Pistons, 113-103, yesterday in Detroit.
The 36-year-old Parker improved to 20-11 against the Pistons, first playing them as a 19-year-old with San Antonio on Jan. 2, 2002. He also helped the Spurs beat Detroit in the 2005 NBA Finals.
Cody Zeller added 14 points to help Charlotte win for the third time in four games.
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 22 rebounds for the Pistons, and Reggie Bullock had a career-high 23 points, hitting six 3-pointers. Detroit has lost 6-of-8.
Detroit’s Blake Griffin was given a flagrant-2 foul and ejected in the fourth for a shoulder check on Malik Monk.
The Hornets started the third quarter with a 10-2 run to go ahead 61-51, and only 12 points from Bullock in the quarter kept Detroit within eight going into the fourth. Walker had nine points in the quarter and Charlotte went 6-of-8 on 3-pointers.
Rockets 115, Pacers 103 — James Harden scored a seasonhigh 40 points and Chris Paul added 26 to help host Houston to its first home win of the season, beating Indiana.
The Rockets, who had lost the last two games of a season-long five-game road trip, dropped their first four home games.
Houston was up 10 with about four minutes left after five quick points by the Pacers, but Harden made two free throws after that to stretch the lead. The Pacers got within eight on a basket by Cory Joseph with about 90 seconds left, but Paul made a layup a few seconds later to put the game out of reach.
Victor Oladipo had 22 for the Pacers, who have lost three of their past four games.
The win comes as the Rockets deal with a disappointing start to the season and rumors and reports about Carmelo Anthony’s status and future with the team. Anthony, who is in his first year in Houston, sat out for the second straight game with an undisclosed illness on a day the New York Times had a sourced report that said he had been told he would soon be waived.
Magic 115, Knicks 89 — Terrence Ross scored 22 points, Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Orlando cruised to a victory in New York.
Harlem native Mo Bamba played his first NBA game at Madison Square Garden and had 15 points and eight rebounds. Evan Fournier added 12 points for the Magic, who have won two straight and 4-of-5.
The Magic made a season-high 17 3-pointers off 42 attempts. Bucks 121, Nuggets 114 — Brook Lopez had a career-high eight 3-pointers and 28 points to help Milwaukee snap an eight-game skid by winning in Denver.
All five Bucks starters scored in double figures and four of them had 20 or more points in Milwaukee’s first win at the Pepsi Center since 2010.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton had 21 points, and Malcom Brogdon added 20.
Paul Milsap led the Nuggets with 25 points and Nikola Jokic added 20.
Denver has lost three straight.