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Rockets hand Grizzlies their third loss, 105-96

Rockets guard Jason Terry (31) celebrates scoring and drawing a foul with teammate Donatas Motiejunas (20) as Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee questions the call in the first half of their game Wednesday night.
(Eric Christian Smith / Associated Press)
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James Harden scored 21 points, and Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry added 16 each to help the short-handed Houston Rockets cruise to a 105-96 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies (15-3) had won five in a row, and their two previous losses this season had been by a combined five points.

Memphis jumped out to an 8-0 lead in this one but couldn’t do much after that. Houston didn’t trail after the first quarter.

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The Rockets (14-4) led by 12 at halftime and scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Rockets led 94-68 entering the fourth quarter and neither team’s starters played much after that.

Houston played without three starters, including Dwight Howard who missed his seventh straight game with a strained right knee.

Rookie Tarik Black and Joey Dorsey picked up the slack from Howard’s absence, combining for 17 points and 19 rebounds.

Mike Conley had 15 points and six assists for Memphis, but also had five of the team’s 20 turnovers.

Chicago 102, at Charlotte 95: Pau Gasol had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic each posted double-doubles, and the Bulls handed the Hornets their 10th straight loss.

at Boston 109, Detroit 102: Jeff Green scored 32 points, including a three-pointer as Boston opened overtime with eight straight points, and the Celtics snapped a five-game losing streak.

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at Brooklyn 95, San Antonio 93: The Nets regrouped in overtime after blowing a 14-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation. Mirza Teletovic had a season-high 26 points and a career-best 15 rebounds starting in place of Kevin Garnett, and the Nets snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ eight-game winning streak.

Atlanta 112, at Miami 102: The Hawks, who have now won four straight and six of seven, dealt the deciding blow with an 18-5 run to end the third quarter. Despite the Heat shooting 56% from the field, Atlanta led by 10 in the first quarter, 14 in the second and pushed the margin to 88-72 going into the fourth.

Dallas 107, at Milwaukee 105: Monta Ellis hit a wild, fall-away jumper at the buzzer as the Mavericks won their fifth in a row while resting Dirk Nowitzki because of a sore back.

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