Rockets stun Bulls; Returning LeBron leads Lakers past Pacers in OT

MANILA, Philippines – The Houston Rockets put an end to a 15-game losing streak with an emphatic upset against the Chicago Bulls, 118-113, at the Toyota Center in Texas on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).

The cellar-dwelling Rockets used a third quarter surge where they outscored the Bulls, 35-18, to notch only their second win of the season.

A balanced team effort that saw eight Rockets players finish in twin-digit scoring helped the home team to a rare victory.

Danuel House Jr. top-scored for the Rockets with 18 points in just 16 minutes of play off of the bench.

Christian Wood chipped in 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Filipino-American guard Jalen Green finished with 11 points but saw limited action with only 10 minutes of play as a starter.

Zach LaVine, for his part, paced the Bulls with 28 points in the loss.

Elsewhere, LeBron James came back from his one-game suspension as he towed the Los Angeles Lakers to a 124-116 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers.

James dropped a season-high 39 points to tow the Lakers in the extra period. He then came through in the clutch when he made back-to-back threes to put his team up six, 120-114, with 1:53 ticks left in OT.

Chris Duarte converted on a tough contested triple at the end of regulation as the Pacers forced overtime.

Russell Westbrook played supporting role to James with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Lakers were without Anthony Davis, who was out due to "flu-like symptoms".

Malcolm Brogdon paced Indiana in the loss with 28 points.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns stayed hot as ever as they booked their 14th straight win of the season, at this time the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-115.

Devin Booker dropped 35 points to help the Suns stretch their longest winning streak in more than a decade.

Chris Paul added a double-double of 17 points and 12 assists.

The Charlotte Hornets, for their part, took a victory over the Orlando Magic, 106-99.

Terry Rozier stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, three rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals.

Patty Mills, Kevin Durant and James Harden scored 20-plus points each as the Brooklyn Nets drubbed the Boston Celtics, 123-104.

Mills, Durant and Harden finished with 23, 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, dropped 33 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their fifth win in a row, beating the Detroit Pistons 114-93.

In other games, the Toronto Raptors leaned on Gary Trent Jr. in the fourth quarter to nip the Memphis Grizzlies, 126-113.

Trent Jr. finished with 26 points and four rebounds.

Jordan Clarkson, for his part, scored 20 points to lead the Utah Jazz over the Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-104.

The New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves also took wins over the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat, respectively.