MIAMI — James Harden came within one rebound of a triple-double as the Houston Rockets remained undefeated, defeating the previously perfect Miami Heat 108-91 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Harden, one of the premier shooting guards in the NBA, had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Houston (5-0), which joins the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors as the only unbeaten teams left in the NBA, was also led by center Dwight Howard, who had game highs in points (26) and rebounds (10).
In addition, Houston small forward Trevor Ariza had nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. He made five of seven on 3-pointers, including three of four in the fourth quarter, when the Rockets extended their six-point lead to put Miami away.
Miami (3-1) was led by forward Chris Bosh (21 points, 8 rebounds) and guard Dwyane Wade (19 points).
Bosh was the big-ticket free agent the Rockets tried to sign this past season. But after LeBron James left for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bosh decided to re-sign with Miami.
Harden and Bosh entered Tuesday as two of the top 10 scorers in the league. Harden also entered the game 16-for-16 from the foul line this season. On Tuesday, he made 10 of 10 on free throws.
Miami led 31-30 at the end of a high-scoring first quarter. Miami made five of six on 3-pointers, and Houston made five of eight. The Rockets also got 12 points from Howard in the quarter.
Houston forward Donatas Motiejunas made his first start of the season, replacing injured starter Terrence Jones. But after Montiejunas was called for two quick fouls, forward Kostas Papanikolaou came in and had an impact with four assists in the first quarter.
Harden had 12 points in the second quarter, which helped Houston take a 57-55 lead into halftime.
Wade had 11 points in the second quarter, but both teams cooled off in terms of their shooting.
Houston extended its led to 83-77 after three quarters. But Bosh, who was held to six points in the first half, came alive with 11 points in the third.
Next up, Miami completes its second of three straight back-to-back games by playing at Charlotte on Wednesday.
Houston’s schedule, which was soft early with four potential lottery teams, got tougher this week with Miami on Tuesday followed by home games against San Antonio on Thursday and Golden State on Saturday.
NOTES: Rockets PG Pat Beverley, who missed two straight games due to a hamstring injury, started against Miami. … Rockets C Dwight Howard (sore right knee) has yet to miss a game this season. Last season, Howard appeared in 71 regular-season games. … Rockets F Terrence Jones (knee) missed his first game this season. … Houston entered Tuesday’s game undefeated at 4-0. The Rockets are off to their best start since 1996-97 when they started the season with six straight wins. … Heat F Chris Bosh was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 25.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in Miami’s first three games. Bosh is reportedly guaranteed more money on his current contract ($118.7 million) than any player in the NBA. … Heat F Chris “Birdman ” Andersen (bruised ribs) missed his second straight game. … Heat Fs Udonis Haslem (quadriceps) Danny Granger (hamstring) have yet to play this season.