Rockets 113, Lakers 99: James Harden poured in 38 points and added five steals as host Houston rallied from a slow start to send Los Angeles to its ninth loss in 10 games.
Dwight Howard tallied 20 points, 13 rebounds and four steals for the Rockets, who were without forward Chandler Parsons (knee) and reserve center Greg Smith. Terrence Jones added 15 points and 13 boards and Jeremy Lin scored 13 for Houston, which has won five of its last seven overall and seven of nine at home.
Nick Young scored 25 points off the bench despite a sore back to lead the Lakers, who committed 18 turnovers leading to 26 Houston points. Pau Gasol recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and Jodie Meeks also scored 21 for Los Angeles.
After a strong first half, the Lakers hit a wall coming out of the break, going 6-of-18 from the field in the third quarter as Harden alone outscored them 17-15. Harden scored seven points during a 14-1 run as Houston opened a 16-point lead and never let the margin dip into single digits even when Los Angeles resorted to intentionally fouling Howard to try to close the gap in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles led by as many as 11 in the first half as Gasol and Young each scored 15 points before the break. Houston finished the half with a flurry, though, as Harden and Aaron Brooks each hit 3-pointers in the final 1:38 to help trim the deficit to 57-52 at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Harden is the first Houston player with three straight 35-point games since Tracy McGrady in 2006. … Lakers PG Kendall Marshall struggled to five points on 2-of-13 shooting but dished out eight assists, giving him 46 in his first four career starts. … Houston finished 28-of-50 at the foul line with Howard going 10-for-24.
source: interaksyon.com
