>>Rockets Beat Bulls

 

Eric Gordon and Chris Paul each had 24 points and nine assists, Gerald Green scored 22 and the Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls 116-107 on Monday night.

 

Trevor Ariza hit six 3-pointers and scored 18 to go with nine rebounds. Clint Capela added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and the Rockets won for the third time in 10 games despite blowing a 21-point lead.

 

Bobby Portis led the Bulls with 22 points. Denzel Valentine and Kris Dunn each scored 19, but Chicago lost for the fifth time in six games.

 

With NBA scoring leader James Harden missing his fourth consecutive game because of a strained hamstring, the Rockets regained control after falling behind early in the third.

 

They scored eight straight to stretch a two-point edge to 10 late in the quarter and took an 87-76 lead into the fourth after Green and Paul nailed back-to-back 3s. Houston was in charge the rest of the game.

 

Houston nearly put this one away early, going up by 21 late in the first quarter after Paul's four-point play. But the Bulls got more physical in the second and cut it to 60-55 at halftime.

 

The Bulls tied it on a 3 by Valentine to start the third and two free throws by Robin Lopez. Dunn gave Chicago its first lead since the early going, 64-62, just under three minutes into the quarter.

 

The Bulls visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

 

>>Pacers Down Bucks

 

The Indiana Pacers seized control early by forcing 13 turnovers in the first 17 minutes, built a 29-point lead and never allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to make a serious run over the final 42 minutes of a 109-96 victory.

 

Domantas Sabonis finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers. Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young each had 15 points on a night when seven Pacers players scored at least 10.

Indiana has won two straight since a five-game losing streak.

 

Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 19 points and Giannis Anetetokoumpo had 17 - not nearly enough against an intense defense on a mission.

 

Indiana broke it open by scoring 20 straight points in the first quarter to turn a 15-14 game into a blowout. The Pacers finished the period on a 22-2 spurt to make it 37-16.

 

The Pacers extended the lead to 48-21 midway through the second quarter before the Bucks finally fought back with a 9-1 run to cut the deficit to 19. Indiana immediately answered with seven straight points and led 64-38 at halftime.

 

Milwaukee couldn't get any closer than 16 until the final two minutes.

 

The Pacers will host Miami on Wednesday, looking for their 11th straight regular-season home win in the series.