Houston Rockets vs Philadelphia 76ers Box Score on Oct 25, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 25, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- Eric Gordon nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer as the Houston Rockets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 105-104 on Wednesday night.

Gordon notched 29 points to lead the Rockets (4-1), who scored the last nine points.

James Harden added 27 points and 13 assists for Houston, and Clint Capella contributed 16 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and four blocked shots.

J.J. Redick poured in 22 points to pace the Sixers, who did not score in the final 3:05.

Joel Embiid added 21 points and Robert Covington chipped in 20 for Philadelphia, which was without guard Markelle Fultz, the top overall pick in this year's draft. The team announced earlier in the day that Fultz would sit out at least the next three games with a sore right shoulder, then be re-evaluated next Tuesday.

With Philadelphia up 104-96, Gordon made a free throw to start the decisive run. Capella then converted Harden's lob, and Harden's three-point play with 30.4 seconds remaining cut the gap to 104-102.

After a 24-second violation by the Sixers, Gordon collected the ball in the left corner and connected.

Embiid scored nine points as the Sixers built a 33-31 first-quarter lead, but he drew his third foul in the final minute of the period and did not play the rest of the half.

The Sixers (1-4) nonetheless extended their lead to 44-33 early in the second quarter, and were up 50-40. The Rockets finished the half on a 16-4 run, and Harden's 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left gave them their first advantage of the night at 56-54.

Harden finished the half with 15 points and nine assists, while Ryan Anderson had 11 and Capela generated 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Covington topped the Sixers with 13 first-half points.

Philadelphia rattled off 11 straight points with Embiid on the bench midway through the third quarter to reclaim the advantage at 69-63, but by the end of the period, Houston narrowed the gap to 80-79.

NOTES: Philadelphia G Ben Simmons had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. ... G James Harden committed eight of the Rockets' 19 turnovers. ... Before the game, Sixers coach Brett Brown said he is unsure how many games G Markelle Fultz might miss, but described it as a "deep breath" for the rookie, who was averaging six points on 33-percent shooting through four games. Fultz's agent, Raymond Brothers, first told ESPN that Fultz had fluid drained from the shoulder, but later told the same outlet that Fultz received a cortisone shot on Oct. 5. ... Rockets C Nene sat out with a sore left Achilles tendon.