HOUSTON — James Harden scored 20 points, Omer Asik had 14 and the Houston Rockets beat the winless Detroit Pistons 96-82 Saturday night in their first game without coach Kevin McHale. The team announced earlier Saturday that McHale was taking an immediate leave of absence to deal with a family matter. Assistant Kelvin Sampson took over, and said before the game he hoped the team would come together to win for McHale. The Rockets did just that, using a third-quarter run to build a big lead and break a three-game losing streak with their first victory at home. The Pistons fell to 0-7. Brandon Knight scored 16 points, and Greg Monroe added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Morris added 12 points for Houston and Toney Douglas had 11. Jeremy Lin helped out with seven points, eight assists and four rebounds. Bobcats 101, Mavericks 97, OT: Rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds to help the Bobcats snap a 16-game losing streak against the Mavericks. Kidd-Gilchrist was 8 of 12 from the field and had a pair of key offensive rebounds off missed foul shots late in the game. Kemba Walker added 26 points and seven assists for Charlotte and Ramon Sessions made some big shots down the stretch and in overtime, finishing with 12 points. Dallas lost for the second straight night on the road after a 3-0 start. O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and Vince Carter had 19 points for the Mavericks. Carter, who was 5 for 8 from 3-point range, missed an opportunity to win the game at the end of regulation when his fallaway jumper was short. Spurs 112, Trail Blazers 109: Gary Neal had 27 points for the Spurs, and Manu Ginobili hit two big free throws in the final seconds. The Blazers made four straight 3-pointers to tie it at 109 with 40.5 seconds left, but Portland stumbled from there and was saddled with its third consecutive loss. Nicolas Batum had a career-high 33 points. Tim Duncan added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a seven-game losing streak at the Rose Garden. San Antonio played without Tony Parker because of a flu bug that has been making its way around the team. Patty Mills started in his place. The Spurs trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter but opened the final period with a 14-0 run to go up 87-79. Nuggets 107, Warriors 101, 2OT: Danilo Gallinari scored five of his 21 points in the final 36 seconds and Denver closed with an 11-0 run to beat Golden State in double overtime. Pacers 89, Wizards 85: Paul George scored 20 points and Indiana stopped a three-game slide. Bulls 87, Timberwolves 80: Nate Robinson scored 18 points and the Bulls ended the Timberwolves' three-game winning streak. Jazz 94, Suns 81: Al Jefferson had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Utah held on for the win. 76ers 93, Raptors 83: Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday and Nick Young scored 16 points apiece, helping the 76ers pick up another road win. Celtics 96, Bucks 92: Paul Pierce scored 25 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and the Celtics rallied for the victory. — Agencies
