Chris Paul

The Thunder again made light of the absence of the injured Russell Westbrook, taking a comfortable win that moved them out of a tie with Portland for the overall lead.

In the day's other important games, Minnesota also held strong at the finish to win at Dallas, the much-improved Washington downed Atlanta, and Brooklyn deepened Memphis' home-court woes.

Chinese basketball star Yao Ming played for the Houston Rockets for nine seasons before he retired from the sport in 2011.

The Los Angeles Clippers shot 77 percent and scored 46 points in the first quarter, then lost their killer instinct but still led all the way in earning their third straight NBA victory, 106-96 over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

LeBron James scored 32 points, and Dwyane Wade added 31 points and eight assists as the Miami Heat held off the Houston Rockets 114-108 on Wednesday.

Jeremy Lin put together another signature performance at Madison Square Garden as the Houston Rockets defeated his former team, the Knicks, 109-96 in his first game back in New York.

The revitalized Los Angeles Lakers ran past the Houston Rockets 119-108 on Sunday for their fourth victory in five games since firing coach Mike Brown.

The Houston Rockets opened its season with a stirring 105-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday thanks to James Harden's 37 points and 12 assists.

The Chicago Bulls record run of avoiding successive NBA defeats is over after a 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Jason Terry scored seven consecutive points in a minute to start a game-turning run for Dallas, finishing with 12 points and four assists in a win over Houston.

Chris Paul scored 12 of his 23 points in the final 2:42, including a go-ahead layup with 24.6 seconds left, in leading the Los Angeles Clippers over the Houston Rockets 95-91 in the NBA on Saturday.

Courtney Lee and rookie Chandler Parsons each scored 21 points, Patrick Patterson blocked Serge Ibaka's point-blank putback attempt in the final 2 seconds, and the Houston Rockets charged back from an 11-point deficit in the final 3 minutes to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-103 on Tuesday.

Kevin Garnett grabbed 13 rebounds to pass Shaquille O'Neal and move into 12th on the NBA's career list, and Paul Pierce scored seven of his 30 points in overtime on Tuesday to lead the Boston Celtics to a 97-92 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Ty Lawson had 22 points and a career-high 15 assists, Arron Afflalo scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half and the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Houston Rockets 117-105 on Friday.

C.J. Miles scored a season-high 27 points and the Utah Jazz beat Houston 104-83 on Wednesday, halting a four-game losing streak and the Rockets' four-game winning streak.

Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Luis Scola had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 88-85 on Tuesday.

Luis Scola had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Lowry added 13 points and two crucial three-point plays down the stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-87 on Wednesday.

Kyle Lowry scored 24 points, Kevin Martin added 22 and Courtney Lee hit four key free throws down the stretch as the Houston Rockets held off the Memphis Grizzlies 97-93 on Monday.