Houston ? They’d already competed long and hard at pingpong, Chutes and Ladders and checkers. After all those years, Jeff and Stan Van Gundy finally faced off as basketball coaches.

In just the second time in NBA history that brothers coached against each other, Jeff’s Houston Rockets defeated Stan’s Miami Heat, 90-70, Tuesday night.

From 1976-78, Larry Brown coached at Denver and Herb Brown coached at Detroit. Larry was 4-2 in those matchups against his brother.

Not only did Jeff beat his brother, the Rockets handed the Heat their second worst loss in a string of seven straight losses to open the season. Miami is the only winless team in the NBA.

“I almost feel guilty,” Jeff said. “It’s like why were you blessed with talent and he wasn’t? There was a huge talent discrepancy and huge size discrepancy, which we’re happy about, but we’re going to have to play better to continue to win.”

Jeff surprised Stan before the game started by walking down and shaking his hand.

“That sort of surprised me, Jeff came down,” Stan said. “That’s rare for him to do that. That’s why I didn’t get up.”

The players realized it wasn’t a regular game.

“You think about that kind of thing,” Miami’s Brian Grant said. “Coach didn’t say anything of that nature, getting a win because of his brother. But the players knew. Of course we’re down. It’s wearing on everybody, not just the coach.”

The Rockets tried to concentrate on the game.

Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy, left, shakes hands with his brother, Miami coach Stan Van Gundy, before the Rockets play the Heat. The Rockets won, 90-70, Tuesday night in Houston.

“I couldn’t tell from anything they were doing,” Steve Francis said. “It wasn’t about Jeff or Stan. It was about Houston versus Miami and I respect that.”

The family reunion started Monday night when the Heat arrived in Houston and Stan went to Jeff’s home for dinner.

“His wife, Kim, told me to make sure I use the words ‘homemade’ and gourmet’ and it was,” Stan said. “It was unbelievable — steak, potato, salad — it was wonderful. She said to say she cooks like that every night.”

The brothers continued their banter in pregame exchanges in the hallway outside the locker rooms.

“I wish it was me going against Jeff, I’m sure I’d come out on top,” Stan said. “It’s more serious when we have to face Francis, (Cuttino) Mobley and Yao (Ming).”

The brother-brother intrigue was more entertaining than the game.

Houston missed its first six shots and didn’t get a basket until 6:33 remained in the first quarter as the Heat took an 11-5 lead. The Rockets recovered to lead 43-36 at halftime and took command in the third quarter. Mobley scored a season-high 30 points to lead the Rockets.

Blazers 83, Raptors 80

Portland, Ore. — Zach Randolph had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Portland overcame a big game from Vince Carter. Carter scored 19 of his 33 points in the first half for the Raptors, who shot just 41.4 percent from the field. Rasheed Wallace had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Damon Stoudamire scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

Kings 97, Pistons 91

Sacramento, Calif. — Mike Bibby had 23 points and five assists, and Sacramento snapped Detroit’s five-game winning streak. The Kings, coming off a 1-3 road trip, overcame a sluggish fourth quarter to beat Detroit for the seventh straight time at Arco Arena.

Clippers 115, Hawks 103

Los Angeles — Quentin Richardson had career highs of 32 points and 16 rebounds to lead Los Angeles past Atlanta, giving coach Mike Dunleavy his 400th career victory. Dunleavy became the 30th coach in league history to reach the 400-victory plateau.

Mavericks 125,

Hornets 97

Dallas — Steve Nash hit all five of his three-point shots and sparked a third-quarter run that led Dallas over New Orleans. The Hornets cut a 19-point deficit in the second period to 66-60 early in the third. Then Nash hit a three that started a 23-2 burst.

Celtics 78, Pacers 76

Indianapolis — Vin Baker hit a fallaway jumper in the lane with 20 seconds left to give Boston a victory over Indiana. Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal missed a short jumper with time winding down, and Boston’s Eric Williams corralled the loose ball to seal the victory. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Baker had 12 points and four rebounds.

Sonics 89, T’wolves 87

Minneapolis — Ronald Murray hit a jumper over Latrell Sprewell at the buzzer, capping his career-high 29-point performance and lifting Seattle over Minnesota. Sprewell made a three-pointer with 14.5 seconds left, tying it at 87.

76ers 112, Wizards 105

Washington — Allen Iverson scored a season-high 40 points, winning a fast-paced scoring duel with Gilbert Arenas and leading Philadelphia past Washington.