James Harden has posted 29 points and seven Rockets scored in double-figures as Houston used a big second-half run to snap a three-game losing streak with a 111-103 NBA victory over Portland.
Top team Toronto also cruised past the LA Clippers 123-99 on Tuesday, while San Antonio easily accounted for Phoenix 111-86.
Clint Capela added 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with five minutes left and Eric Gordon, who started in place of James Ennis, had 14 points for the Rockets, who shot 49 per cent from the field.
Houston's bench played a key role in a 24-6 first-half run that erased a 15-point deficit and then led a charge in the second half. Gerald Green had 13 points and Danuel House 12 off the bench.
Damian Lillard contributed 34 points, CJ McCollum 22 and Jusuf Nurkic 15 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, who shot 44 per cent after starting the game by making seven of their first nine shots.
Houston used a 25-5 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters and opened a 100-83 lead on a 3-pointer by Harden with 6:48 left. House and Green each had five points in the run.
After trading baskets, Houston pushed the lead to 107-99 on a free throw by Harden and two by Chris Paul.
After Lillard missed a lay-up, Paul hit two more free throws to push the lead back to 10 with 1:38 left. Portland got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
In San Antonio, Bryn Forbes scored a season-high 24 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
Coach Gregg Popovich earned his 1211th career win, moving him past Pat Riley for fourth place on the all-time NBA coaching victories list.
With a third consecutive victory, San Antonio moved to 14-14 on the season.
They led by 13 at the half and were never challenged beyond it, with their starters spending the final 12 minutes on the bench.
They were up 88-64 heading into the fourth quarter and enjoyed a game-high 25-point advantage early in the fourth and again at game's end.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points for San Antonio. Dante Cunningham hit for 14 points. Jakob Poeltl took 11 rebounds for the Spurs.
Serge Ibaka had 25 points and nine rebounds as Toronto ran away from the Clippers who were without injured Kawhi Leonard.
Kyle Lowry added 21 points, making four of the Raptors' 14 3-pointers.
Leonard sat out with a bruised right hip that he hurt against Milwaukee last Sunday. Toronto's leading scorer with 26.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game is day-to-day.
Toronto shot 52 per cent from the floor, had 34 assists and outscored the Clippers 28-4 in fast-break points.
Fred VanVleet had a career-high 14 assists starting in place of Leonard.
with Reuters
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