The Sports Xchange
Nov 27, 2017
HOUSTON -- James Harden produced another breathlessly efficient scoring performance and the Houston Rockets rode his hot hand to a 117-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night at Toyota Center.
The Rockets (16-4) extended their winning streak to five games behind Harden, who scored 37 points on 13-for-20 shooting while adding 10 rebounds and eight assists. He poured in 20 points without a miss in the first quarter as Houston took a 21-point lead it did not relinquish.
Harden opened the game 8-for-8 before missing a driving layup in traffic late in the first half. Houston needed Harden to help restore order in the second quarter after the Nets (7-13) scored 22 points in the paint in the period, mostly on rim attacks by guard Caris LeVert.
After Brooklyn closed to within seven points on a Spencer Dinwiddie 3-pointer, Harden responded with a 3 and later added a driving layup at the buzzer to rebuild a double-digit lead. The Nets opened the second half with a 12-5 spurt but the Rockets mustered another response.
When Harden followed his dunk with a free throw and a driving layup, Houston led by 15. For all their feistiness, the Nets didn't unearth the personnel to prevent Harden from dominating.
Clint Capela added 20 points for the Rockets, Ryan Anderson scored 13 and Eric Gordon 12. Chris Paul shot just 1 for 7 but had 14 assists without a turnover, six boards and two steals.
Isaiah Whitehead scored 24 points off the bench for the Nets, who had six players reach double figures in points. Dinwiddie and LeVert totaled 27 points on 12-for-28 shooting and 13 assists.
Houston finished 20 for 50 on 3-pointers, its fifth consecutive game with at least 18 3s.
NOTES: One night after scoring a season-high 24 points at Memphis, Nets F DeMarre Carroll was sidelined by an upper respiratory illness. Carroll joined Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (ankle), Allen Crabbe (back), D'Angelo Russell (knee) and Jeremy Lin (knee) as unavailable rotation players. ... Rockets F Ryan Anderson returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench against the New York Knicks last Saturday. Houston coach Mike D'Antoni will continue to experiment starting F P.J. Tucker over Anderson depending upon the matchup. ... The Rockets and Nets combined to hoist 88 3-pointers in their previous meeting, a 137-112 Houston win in Brooklyn on Jan. 15. They totaled 89 3s on Monday night.