SACRAMENTO, Calif.

James Harden had 27 points and nine assists, and the Houston Rockets made it a perfect two-game road trip to start the season despite playing this one without Chris Paul, beating the Sacramento Kings 105-100 on Wednesday night.

While he didn’t shoot especially well, Harden hit a trio of dagger 3-pointers with 8:13, 6:00 and 5:13 left — the second of which put Houston ahead 89-79. He also had a key left-handed layup late and finished 8 for 21 and 4 of 14 from 3-point range.

Capela had 22 points and matched his career high with 17 rebounds. Paul sat out with a bruised left knee that limited him during Houston’s stunning comeback 122-121 win at Golden State on Tuesday after the Warriors held their championship ring ceremony.

Gordon started for Paul and scored 25 points.

Buddy Hield scored 10 of his 19 points in the third quarter for Sacramento.

Trail Blazers 124, Suns 76

PHOENIX (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Portland opened the season by handing Phoenix the most one-sided loss in the franchise’s 49-year history.

Pat Connaughton added a career-high 24 points, making 4 of 6 3-pointers. The Trail Blazers outshot, outrebounded and outhustled the Suns from the opening tip.

The 48-point rout exceeded Phoenix’s previous record, a 44-point loss to Seattle (151-107) on April 2, 1988.

Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting for Phoenix.

Spurs 107, T-wolves 99

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio held o beat Minnesota while opening the season without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard.

Pistons 102, Hornets 90

DETROIT (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter, helping Detroit celebrate its return downtown with the victory over Charlotte.

The Pistons and Hornets opened the season in Little Caesars Arena, a new facility that brought them back to the city for the first time in nearly four decades. Eminem made a surprise appearance, grabbing the microphone to fire up the crowd just before tipoff. Kid Rock, another Motor City musical artist, sat in a baseline seat near Detroit’s bench. Wizards 120, 76ers 115

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall scored 28 points, Bradley Beal rebounded from a rough start to add 25 and Washington beat Philadelphia to spoil the NBA debuts of top picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.

Paces 140, Nets 131

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Oladipo scored 22 points in his Indiana debut, Darren Collison added 21 points and 11 assists in his return to Indianapolis, and the Pacers held off Brooklyn.

Hawks 117, Mavs 111

DALLAS (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored 28 points in his first game as the front man for Atlanta and the rebuilding Hawks spoiled rookie Dennis Smith Jr.’s solid Dallas debut.

Magic 116, Heat 109

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Evan Fournier scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Orlando held off Miami.

Grizzlies 103, Pelicans 91

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Conley scored 27 points, rookie Dillon Brooks added 19 and Memphis beat New Orleans.

Jazz 106, Nuggets 96

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 10 rebounds in Utah’s victory over Denver.

Derrick Favors added 14 and Ricky Rubio had 10 assists in his first game with the Jazz. Will Barton led the Nuggets with 23 points, and Paul Millsap added 19.