Rockets able to hang on, beat Thunder
NBA: James Harden scored 19 points, and the Houston Rockets beat the host Oklahoma City Thunder 69-65 on Sunday night for their third consecutive win.
Dwight Howard had 12 points and nine rebounds for Houston, and Patrick Beverley added 12 points and eight boards.
Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field.
With the score tied at 65, Harden hit a 3-pointer with Jeremy Lamb in his face with 1:19 to play. With Rockets still leading 68-65, Harden missed another contested 3 against Lamb, giving the Thunder a chance to tie.
Oklahoma City’s Reggie Jackson missed a deep 3-pointer, and Harden made one of two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to seal it.
Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder.
• Bucks get past Heat: Brandon Knight made three 3-pointers down the stretch and scored 20 points, Jabari Parker scored 13 and visiting Milwaukee downed Miami 91-84.
Larry Sanders, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zaza Pachulia each scored 11 for the Bucks.
Mario Chalmers scored 18 for Miami, which was again without Dwyane Wade and lost its third straight.
• Warriors dominate Lakers: Stephen Curry had 30 points and 15 assists, Marreese Speights added 24 points, and visiting Golden State cruised past Los Angeles 136-115 despite 44 points by Kobe Bryant.
Andrew Bogut had 15 points with 10 rebounds and former WSU standout Klay Thompson had 18 for the Warriors, who are off to an 8-2 start under new coach Steve Kerr.
• Kings, Gay reach deal: The Sacramento Kings and forward Rudy Gay have agreed to a $40 million, three-year contract extension that runs through the 2017-18 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said. The extension includes a player option for the final year of the deal.
Holy Cross upsets 25th-ranked Harvard
College basketball: Justin Burrell scored 16 points, including a pair of free throws to give Holy Cross the lead with 2 minutes left as the Crusaders beat No. 25 Harvard 58-57 in Boston.
Wesley Saunders scored 24 with 12 rebounds for the Crimson, who were in The AP preseason Top 25 for the first time. But he missed a jumper as time expired that would have given Harvard the win.
• Kentucky puts away Buffalo: Trey Lyles lifted No. 1 Kentucky out of a funk with five straight points to begin the second half, and Tyler Ulis scored 12 points on four 3-pointers to help the Wildcats rally for a 71-52 victory over Buffalo in Lexington, Kentucky.
Trailing 38-33 at halftime, Kentucky used a 3-pointer and subsequent steal and dunk by Lyles to get back on track. The 6-foot-10 freshman forward finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting as the Wildcats pulled away from the stubborn Bulls in the final 20 minutes.
Blackhawks rally with four-goal period
NHL: Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg each had a goal and two assists, and Chicago scored four goals in the third period to beat the visiting Dallas Stars 6-2.
Kane connected from a sharp angle early in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie. Jonathan Toews, Versteeg, and Brandon Saad scored in a 2:55 span later in the period to put the game away.
• Wild beat Jets in OT: Marco Scandella scored at 1:01 of overtime after missing two games with an illness to give host Minnesota a 4-3 win over Winnipeg in St. Paul.
Zach Parise scored two goals in his return from a concussion and helped give Minnesota a 3-0 lead after the first. But Winnipeg scored three goals in 5 minutes in the third to tie it.
• Panthers rout Ducks: Nick Bjugstad had two goals and two assists, and Brad Boyes scored twice during Florida’s four-goal second period in a 6-2 victory over host Anaheim.
Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau also scored in the highest-scoring performance of the season by the Panthers.
WADA against jail terms for athletes
MISCELLANY: The World Anti-Doping Agency says it’s against the imposition of criminal sanctions on cheating athletes despite a tougher code that will come into effect on Jan. 1.
At a meeting of its members, WADA also announced that pledges for the creation of an anti-doping research fund reached more than $10 million, matching the financial investment made by the International Olympic Committee.
• Cubs deal Vizcaino: The Chicago Cubs have acquired second baseman Tommy La Stella in a trade with the Atlanta Braves for reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Chicago and Atlanta also swapped four international pool slots in the deal, with three going to the Braves and one to the Cubs.
• Kristoffersen takes slalom cup: Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway won the World Cup men’s slalom opener, beating Austria’s Marcel Hirscher by 0.12 seconds in foggy conditions in Levi, Finland.
The 20-year-old Kristoffersen had a combined time of 1 minute, 50.39 seconds, while world champion Hirscher led after the first run on the Finnish Arctic slope in Levi.