INDIANAPOLIS — James Harden had 26 points and 15 assists and the Houston Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers 118-95 on Sunday night.

Indianapolis native Eric Gordon had 21 points for Houston, and Clint Capela had 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Houston led by 23 in the game that was hardly contested by Indiana.

The Rockets overwhelmed the Pacers from the start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead. Houston continued to pile it on early and often, outscoring the Pacers 24-9 during the first 6 minutes.

The lone bright spot of the game for the Pacers came in the second quarter when they managed to cut Houston’s lead to 39-34. Victor Oladipo had 28 points, and Domantas Sabonis added 17 off the bench for Indiana, and Lance Stephenson had eight points and 10 assists.

But the Rockets were simply too much for the Pacers. Houston went into halftime leading 63-51 and put it away in the third quarter.

The Rockets scored 17 fast-break points, with several of those scoring opportunities coming off steals. Houston’s defense was also a high point for the Rockets with 10 of Indiana’s 13 turnovers coming by way of a steal. The Rockets outscored the Pacers 46-38 in the paint.

PISTONS 112, HEAT 103: Tobias Harris scored 25 points and Avery Bradley added 24 in host Detroit’s victory over Miami.

Reggie Jackson scored 17 points, rookie Luke Kennard had 14 and Andre Drummond added eight points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons. At 10-3, they are second behind Boston in the Eastern Conference and off to their best start since going 10-2 in 2005-06.

THUNDER 112, MAVERICKS 99: Paul George scored 37 points, Russell Westbrook added 27 and Oklahoma City overcame the absence of two starters to beat Dallas at home.

Carmelo Anthony was ruled out about an hour before tipoff because of a sore lower back, and center Steven Adams sat out with a right calf contusion.

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