National Basketball Association

Rockets top Mavs 111-108 in preseason foul fest

Published Oct. 7, 2014 11:45 p.m. ET

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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.