The Houston Rockets continued their unbeaten start to the new NBA season with a comfortable win over the Miami Heat.

James Harden and Dwight Howard started to edge the Rockets in front after a closely-fought first half, before Trevor Ariza ended any hopes of a late comeback by last season's Eastern Conference champions.

The Portland Trail Blazers thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers, inflicting the first away defeat of the season on the visitors.

Cleveland were briefly ahead in the first quarter, but Damian Lillard led Portland with 27 points to ensure that they never looked like getting caught again in the second.

LeBron James had little impact for the Cavaliers, managing just 11, although Kevin Love battled to 22 as he tried to give the visitors some late hope.

The Los Angeles Lakers are still looking for their first win of the new season, suffering their fifth straight defeat of the new campaign against the Phoenix Suns.

The home side never recovered from a blistering second-quarter rally by Phoenix, which helped them to a 12-point lead at the break.

Kobe Bryant tried to keep LA in contention, finishing the game with 39 points, but Gerald Green and Markieff Morris ensured that the Suns took their second win over the Lakers in seven days.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's struggles away from home continued as they suffered their fourth straight defeat on the road, losing to the Toronto Raptors.

The Thunder were ahead early on, led by Serge Ibaka, but DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Patterson helped the Raptors clinch the victory after the break.

Injuries affected the Thunder, who headed into the game with just eight healthy players, and had to have Perry Jones helped off the court with a knee injury, while Sebastian Telfair missed the final two minutes after being ejected.

The Chicago Bulls needed a late push to secure victory over the winless Orlando Magic at the United Center.

The home side were without a couple of their starters, allowing Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic to keep the sides close, but Pau Gasol led the scoring for the Bulls to edge to the win.

The Milwaukee Bucks held off a fourth-quarter fightback from the Indiana Pacers to end their 16-game losing streak away from home.

The Bucks had led by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, but Chris Copeland led a late Indiana surge, cutting Milwaukee's advantage to just three points with 42 seconds still to play.

However, Brandon Knight, who finished the game with 23, added a jump shot with just 22 seconds remaining to put the victory beyond doubt for the visitors.

The Washington Wizards dominated the second half to secure a win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The visitors were five points down at the break, but a series of shots from Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple helped Washington open up a lead, while some strong defensive play restricted Carmelo Anthony to just eight baskets from 23 shots from the floor.

The Charlotte Hornets suffered their first defeat of the campaign as Anthony Davis led the New Orleans Pelicans to victory.

The sides looked well matched early on, but Davis led the home side to an advantage after the break as his teammates restricted Charlotte's chances, allowing just six baskets in the third quarter.

It is the first time that the two sides have played since Charlotte retook the Hornets name, after New Orleans switched to the Pelicans last year.

Results in full: Milwaukee Bucks 87-81 Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets 108-91 Miami Heat, Washington Wizards 98-83 New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder 88-100 Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic 90-98 Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets 91-100 New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers 82-101, Phoenix Suns 112-106 Los Angeles Lakers