Field Level Media
Mar 25, 2018
James Harden posted his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Houston Rockets parlayed torrid 3-point shooting into a 118-99 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at Toyota Center.
Houston led by as many as 26 points in its wire-to-wire victory, extending its winning streak to nine games. The Rockets converted 14 of 28 3-point attempts in the first half to build their advantage, sweep the season series from Atlanta, and extend their home-court winning streak to 16 games.
Harden struggled with his shot, making 6 of 15 attempts while missing 6 of 7 3-point tries. However, he tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists to help steer the Rockets, who were without Chris Paul (hamstring) for a third consecutive game. Paul could return on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.
Taurean Prince and Isaiah Taylor combined to shoot 21 of 35 while scoring 28 and 26 points respectively for the Hawks, who were without Dennis Schroder. Atlanta has dropped 9 of 10.
Gerald Green scored 25 points off the Houston bench, drilling 5 of 10 3-point attempts. Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker sank four treys apiece, with Gordon posting 22 points, Ariza 14, all in the first period, and Tucker 12. Houston went 20 of 52 from behind the arc overall. Atlanta, meanwhile, shot 11 of 40 from 3-point range.
Harden shot 1 of 6 prior to the intermission but recorded a dozen assists over 18 minutes. He picked apart the Hawks' pick-and-roll defense, drawing two defenders before finding teammates wide open from behind the arc. Ariza was the early beneficiary, drilling 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the opening period as the Rockets raced to a 33-20 advantage entering the second quarter.
When Green and Tucker combined for three 3-pointers to open the second period, the Rockets extended to a 21-point lead. Houston hit a stretch where all six of its field goals during a two-plus minute stretch came from deep, with Clint Capela snapping that run with a ferocious dunk off a nifty pick-and-roll pass from Harden.
Tucker added two more 3-pointers around a second-chance basket from Capela, and the Rockets led 65-39 with 2:08 left in the first half.
--Field Level Media