CLEVELAND -- James Harden scored 27 points and the Houston Rockets rallied from a 20-point deficit for a 106-100 victory Tuesday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who rested LeBron James.
Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Houston outscored Cleveland 35-16 in the period.
Dwight Howard's free throw with 2:13 left put Houston ahead 95-94. Harden's 3-pointer made it 98-94 before Kyrie Irving hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 left, making it a one-point game.
Both teams missed shots on their next possession, but Trevor Ariza's 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left gave Houston a 101-97 lead.
Irving scored 31 points for Cleveland, which fell to 1-3 this season and 4-13 over the last two when James doesn't play (see full recap).
Pistons snap Durant-less Thunder's win streak
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Marcus Morris scored 24 points, and the Detroit Pistons took advantage of Kevin Durant's absence in an 88-82 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
The Thunder rested Durant and Serge Ibaka, and Oklahoma City was held to only nine points in the third period en route to its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Thunder rallied from a 15-point deficit, closing the gap to just one in the fourth, but Detroit was able to hold on late for another victory in its push for a playoff spot.
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The Thunder had their eight-game winning streak snapped. Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 24 points on 8-of-28 shooting.
Andre Drummond had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, and Tobias Harris added 17 points (see full recap).
Butler's last-second jumper ends Bulls' skid
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmy Butler made a tiebreaking jumper with 3.7 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 98-96 on Tuesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
Nikola Mirotic scored 28 points as Chicago (37-37) got back to .500. He made seven 3-pointers, his final one tying it at 96 with 2:19 remaining.
The Pacers missed five shots in the final 2 minutes that would have given them the lead before the Bulls rebounded Pau Gasol's miss with 20 seconds remaining and got the ball to Butler for his 17-footer from the right wing.
CJ Miles missed a 3-pointer that would have won it as time expired. Paul George led all Pacers with 20 points.
Butler finished with 14 points (see full recap).