DALLAS (AP) — James Harden scored 17 points, Kostas Papanikolaou made three big free throws with 0.2 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-108 in a foul-filled preseason opener for both teams Tuesday night.
Chandler Parsons had 14 points against his former team in his Dallas debut.
Papanikolaou was fouled on a 3-pointer by Jae Crowder and made all three free throws to make it 111-108 in a game with 81 fouls and 109 trips to the line.
Dwight Howard fouled out with 6:29 left in the third quarter as the Rockets finished with 45 fouls to 36 for Dallas.
Tyson Chandler, back in Dallas for the first time since playing a vital role in the franchise’s only championship in 2011, finished with 10 points and five fouls.
Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki sat out with a right hip contusion that isn’t expected to sideline him long.
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