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.

Among other games, Philadelphia's Tony Wroten led the Sixers to an overtime win over Houston, Minnesota had a comfortable win over Cleveland, and Tony Parker guided San Antonio to victory over Washington.

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.

Blake Griffin made three straight jumpers in the closing minutes to finish with 14 points and nine rebounds, lifting the Los Angeles Clippers over Sacramento.