WASHINGTON — James Harden scored 59 points and made 1 of 2 free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to give the Houston Rockets a 159-158 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Bradley Beal scored 46 points for Washington, hitting three throws with 8.1 seconds left to tie it at 158.
Harden was 18 of 32 from the field, 6 of 14 from 3-point range, and made 17 of 18 free throws. He also had nine assists in 37 minutes.
Russell Westbrook had had just three points in the first three quarters, then scored 14 in the fourth quarter and finished with his second triple-double of the season. He had 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Clint Capela added 21 points and 12 rebounds to help Houston improve to 3-1.
Rui Hachimura had 23 points in his home debut for the Wizards, Davis Bertans added 21 and Washington shot 62.6% from the field. The Wizards dropped to 1-3.
Hachimura, the highest drafted Japanese-born player in NBA history, had lots of fans in his home debut, including Shinsuke Sugiyama, the Japanese ambassador to the U.S.
Washington Coach Scott Brooks coached Harden and Westbrook for three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
76ERS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 95: Joel Embiid scored 19 points and got into a brawl with Karl-Anthony Towns that sent both players to the showers early, and Philadelphia beat visiting Minnesota for its fourth straight win to begin the season.
The Sixers were leading 75-55 midway through the third quarter when Embiid and Towns went at it. The two big men have a history of talking trash to each other. After they got tangled under the basket, Embiid shoved Towns, who answered with a punch that missed as both men fell to the floor. Ben Simmons jumped in and forcefully held Towns down as other players and coaches ran onto the court to separate everyone.
Embiid and Towns were ejected after a video review. Embiid shadowboxed to the crowd’s delight on his way back to the locker room. Fans responded with “MVP!” chants.
Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points, Towns had 13 points and former Sixer Robert Covington had seven for the Timberwolves.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 off the bench and Simmons added 16 for Philadelphia. Al Horford grabbed 16 rebounds to go with 12 points.
Minnesota led 11-9 midway through the first quarter before Harris hit a 3-pointer. Harris followed with a driving layup and Philadelphia led the rest of the way.
Embiid punctuated a dominant first half with a 3 to put the Sixers up 63-42 going into the break.
PACERS 118, NETS 108: Domantas Sabonis scored 29 points, Jeremy Lamb added 25 and visiting Indiana beat Brooklyn for its first victory in five games this season.
Malcolm Brogdon added 21 points and 13 assists for Indiana.
Kyrie Irving led Brooklyn with 28 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 and Caris LeVert 15. The Nets have lost two in a row to fall to 1-3.
The Pacers took their largest lead at 112-96 on Brogdan’s 3-pointer with 4:43 remaining.
RAPTORS 125, PISTONS 113: Pascal Siakam scored 30 points, including 19 in the third quarter, and Fred VanVleet had 13 points and 11 assists as Toronto topped visiting Detroit Pistons for its fourth victory in five games to start the season.
CAVALIERS 117, BULLS 111: Kevin Love had 17 points and 20 rebounds, Tristan Thompson scored 23 points and Cleveland won at home.
Love’s basket on a goaltending call on Lauri Markkanen gave Cleveland a 91-90 lead early in the tightly played fourth quarter. His jumper from the left wing put the Cavaliers ahead 110-106 with just under a minute to play.
Collin Sexton, who sat most of the third quarter because of foul trouble, scored 10 points in the final eight minutes, including a dunk over Chicago center Wendell Carter Jr. following an assist from Love on Cleveland’s next possession.
MAGIC 95, KNICKS 83: Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Orlando rallied to beat visiting New York.
Aaron Gordon scored 10 of his 15 points in the final 5:35 to help Orlando snap a two-game losing streak. Evan Fournier added 14 points, and Jonathan Isaac had 10.
Julius Randle led New York with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell Robinson added 12 points, all in the first half, and Bobby Portis also had 12.
TRAIL BLAZERS 102, THUNDER 99: Damian Lillard had 23 points and 13 assists to help Portland hold off host Oklahoma City.
Lillard made 4 of 15 shots the first three quarters, but he made three 3-pointers in an 86-second flurry in the fourth that turned a three-point deficit into a five-point lead. The Trail Blazers led the rest of the way.
NOTES
MAVERICKS: Retired star Dirk Nowitzki joined a few hundred people at a ceremony to rename a city street as Nowitzki Way in his honor.
Nowitzki accepted the gesture with characteristic humor and humility.
“It’s sort of surreal,” he said. “From my first year, the city probably wouldn’t have named a Dumpster after me.”
Nowitzki, now 41, retired after last season, his 21st with the franchise. The 14-time All-Star is easily the greatest player in Mavericks history and the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history. The 2007 NBA MVP will forever be beloved around here for helping Dallas win its only championship in 2011 when he was NBA Finals MVP.
Nowitzki Way is the former 2900-3000 block of Olive Street south of the American Airlines Center, where Nowitzki played 18 of his NBA-record 21 seasons with only one franchise. The City Council approved the name change in a unanimous vote. Most of the event was moved inside on a cool, windy day.
HAWKS: Guard Trae Young has been ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Miami Heat with a sprained right ankle.
THUNDER: Center Steven Adams missed Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a left knee contusion.
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