MIAMI (AP) β James Harden had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, Dwight Howard added 26 points and 10 boards, and the Houston Rockets stayed unbeaten in beating the Miami Heat 108-91 to improve to 5-0. Trevor Ariza (ah-REE’-zuh) added 19 points for the Rockets, who used a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter to pull away from the 3-1 Heat.
NEW YORK (AP) β β Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple each scored 17 points, and the Washington Wizards beat the New York Knicks for the fourth straight time, 98-83. Kevin Seraphin came off the bench and had 15 points for Washington, which is 3-1 in the early going.
CONROE, Texas (AP) βMinnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson avoided jail time with a plea agreement reached with prosecutors to resolve his child abuse case. Peterson was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son earlier this year. His chances of playing again in the NFL this season are unclear.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon have avoided any penalty from NASCAR for their post-race altercation at Texas, but two crew chiefs and four crew members from Hendrick Motorsports have been punished for their roles in the brawl. The fight began when Gordon confronted Keselowski on pit road after the race.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) β Saying he’s lost his passion for baseball, seven-time All-Star Alfonso Soriano is retiring from the major leagues after a season in which he was released by the New York Yankees in July. The 38-year-old Soriano ends his career 50th on the all-time list with 412 home runs.
