WASHINGTON — James Harden was not about to let one rough half ruin his evening.

And the Houston Rockets’ star guard figures he has enough help around the court that the points are bound to flow for himself and the rest of his team.

Harden set aside a slow start to finish with 32 points and 15 assists – his fourth straight 30-10 game – and led the Rockets past the slumping Washington Wizards 114-106 on Monday night.

“Chemistry with everybody is getting there,” Harden said after helping Houston improve to 4-3, with help from Ryan Anderson’s 23 points, Trevor Ariza’s 15 and Clint Capela’s 14. “It’s just predicated on me making the right decision.”

Washington’s John Wall broke Hall of Fame center Wes Unseld’s franchise record for career assists before getting ejected with 33.3 seconds left and his team trailing by five en route to falling to 1-5.

Official Marc Davis explained the reason for Wall’s second technical foul this way via a pool report: “After granting the team a timeout, I felt that there was contact and that he bumped me. I wasn’t certain of his intent. I told him to watch himself. He looked over his shoulder and used vulgarity and inappropriate language.”

Wall left with 21 points and eight assists.

BULLS 112, MAGIC 80: Jimmy Butler scored 20 points while Taj Gibson had 16 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago won at home.

Dwyane Wade also scored 16 points and Doug McDermott finished with 11 for Chicago, which had dropped three straight. Wade went 7 for 12 from the field in 25 minutes, bouncing back nicely from a dismal four-point performance in Saturday’s 111-94 loss at Indiana.

Orlando had won three straight, but it played listless defense as Chicago pulled away in the third quarter.

THUNDER 97, HEAT 85: Enes Kanter had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help Oklahoma City win at home.

Kanter made 10 of 12 shots in 21 minutes off the bench. Victor OIadipo scored 17 points, rookie Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 15 to go with 10 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 14 points and 11 assists for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City improved to 6-1, the best seven-game start for the franchise since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008.

Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, who entered averaging 20 points and 14.2 rebounds, finished with five points on 1-for-9 shooting and 12 rebounds.

James Johnson led Miami with 18 points.

The Heat shot just 36.9 percent from the field.

JAZZ 109, 76ERS 84: Derrick Favors had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Rodney Hood scored 18 points to lead visiting Utah over winless Philadelphia.

Gordon Hayward scored 20 points in the second game of his return since he broke his right ring finger in training camp. He led the team in scoring last season, averaging nearly 20 points per game.

HORNETS 122, PACERS 100: Kemba Walker had 24 points and 10 assists as host Charlotte is off to the best start in franchise history.

The Hornets (5-1) scored on their first 12 possessions and led by as many as 21 in the first quarter.

Charlotte tied a 23-year franchise record with 75 points in the first half on 56.5 percent shooting. The team’s starters were 17 of 25 from the field before intermission.

Copy the Story Link