Shooting guard James Harden made his debut with the Houston Rockets on Monday in the preseason game they played at the Toyota Center and won 112-98 over the San Antonio Spurs.
Harden, who had missed the first two preseason games in Chicago due to getting into practice late while asking to be traded, appeared to be in usually good physical shape, though he didn’t have the best shooting inspiration.
But he contributed 12 points in the 21 minutes he played by scoring 3 of 10 shots from the field, including 2 of 6 triples, and 4 of 5 free throws.
He also had three defensive rebounds, four assists, two turnovers and three turnovers.
While point guard John Wall, who was transferred from the Washington Wizards, who received Russell Westbrook, finished with 15 points, the same as reserve forward Ben McLemore had.
Center DeMarcus Cousins, the other great acquisition of the Rockets, confirmed that he is fully recovered from the serious injuries he suffered in past seasons and dominated the inside game by getting seven points, 11 rebounds, four turnovers and one block.
Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo came out of reserve with the Rockets and contributed seven points in the 14 minutes he played after scoring 2 of 4 field goals, which were two three-pointers from three attempts, and hitting 1 of 2 shots from the free throw line.
Caboclo was dominant in the inside game with four defensive rebounds and led the team in four blocks.
The Spurs, who played their second preseason game, lost again, with shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV leading scorer with 17 points.
Point guard DeJounte Murray reached 13 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds, but committed five turnovers.
The Philadelphia Sixers made their preseason debut under the direction of their new coach, Doc Rivers, and won 108-99 against the Boston Celtics, who also debuted with preparation games for the 2020 regular season -21, which will begin on December 22.
Reserve guard Shake Milton with 19 points surprised as the Sixers’ leading scorer, while Cameroon pivot Joel Embiid reached 18 points.
Power forward Tobias Harris finished as the best in the Sixers’ inside game, coming close to a double-double after contributing 16 points, capturing nine rebounds and dishing out three assists.
For the Celtics, another reserve player and new acquisition, veteran point guard Jeff Teague finished as the leading scorer by scoring 18 points, after scoring 7 of 9 field goals, including the four triples he made.
Another point guard, rookie Payton Pritchard, who also came off the bench, finished as the second leading scorer with 16 points.
Power forward Jayson Tatum with 10 points was the only one of the five Celtics starters who had double-digit numbers.
In another game of the day, the Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 114-113, in what was their second win.
The second year point guard, point guard Kyle Guy, with 20 points was the leader of the Kings’ attack, who also had the contribution of Bahamian shooting guard Buddy Hield, who reached 18 points after scoring five triples from 10 attempts.
While point guard Stephen Curry was once again the great figure of the Warriors at the end of the game with 29 points, four rebounds, four assists and three ball recoveries.
Curry showed he’s back in full form and shooting inspiration by shooting 11 of 21 from the field, including 5 of 13 3-point attempts, and was 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
Reserve power forward Marquese Chriss led the Warriors in the inside game with 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
