If the unbeaten Houston Rockets were a movie, they would be in 3D.
Dwight Howard had 26 points and 10 rebounds on Tuesday night and the Rockets used their "3-and-D" attack to pull away in the second half for a 108-91 victory over hosts Miami Heat, who suffered their first loss of the season.
James Harden totalled 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Rockets (5-0), who continued their league-leading three-point barrage.
Houston came in averaging 13.5 three-pointers in 31 attempts and surpassed both by draining 17-of-37 shots from the arc.
"I think we shot the ball well, especially in the second half," Howard said.
"We moved the ball, we found the open man and we didn't rush. We took what the defence gave us and we made plays off of it."
Off to their best start in 18 years, the Rockets also continued their surprisingly stout defence, holding Miami 18 points below their average. Houston have yet to allow more than 93 points.
"There are a lot of areas we can still improve on," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.
"But the grit was something I was proud of. The guys got after it and after they made that run we found a way to just keep on grinding."
Elsewhere Portland Trail Blazers beat Cleveland Cavaliers 101-82.
Damian Lillard snapped out of a slump with 27 points for the host Blazers while superstars LeBron James (11) and Kyrie Irving (9) combined for just 20 points for the Cavaliers.
Australian Matthew Dellavedova had a quiet night for the Cavs with two points and two rebounds in his 11 minutes.
Hosts Los Angeles went down to the Phoenix Suns 112-106 as the Lakers fell to a league-worst 0-5 despite 39 points from Kobe Bryant. Gerald Green scored 26 points for the Suns.
Chicago Bulls edged Orlando Magic 98-90 as Jimmy Butler scored 21 points and Spanish star Pau Gasol added 16 and 13 rebounds for the host Bulls, who were without injured stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
Montenegro's Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 boards for the winless Magic.
In other matches Washington Wizards 98 beat New York Knicks 83, Toronto Raptors were too strong for Oklahoma City Thunder 100-88, New Orleans Pelicans finished over the top of Charlotte Hornets 100-91 and Milwaukee Bucks handed the Indiana Pacers their third straight loss, 87-81.
