Rockets 105, Cavaliers 103 (OT)
James Harden scored 33 points and Houston survived a wild affair that featured five technical fouls to cap a 5-0 homestand.
LeBron James led all scorers with 37 points for Cleveland but went 3-of-11 from the line, missing two with 4.2 seconds left in overtime to help the Rockets win their sixth straight in the series. Terrence Jones finished with 19 points, Donatas Motiejunas had 16 and Patrick Beverley 12 as Houston improved to 5-0 in overtime games.
James made 15 of a season-high 35 field-goal tries while Kevin Love added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost consecutive games for the first time since a six-game slide early in January. Tristan Thompson contributed 14 points and a season-high 19 rebounds as Cleveland saw its 10-game win streak against Western Conference teams come to an end.
Beverley hit a 3-pointer and Josh Smith made two free throws for a 104-100 lead midway through overtime but James was good from beyond the arc to make it a one-point game with 43.5 seconds left. After a Houston turnover, James penetrated for the potential go-ahead score and was fouled, only to miss both free throws, and the Cavaliers failed to get a shot off following Harden's trip to the line with 0.6 seconds to go.
Terrance Jones' first 3-pointer in over a month made it 57-47 and it remained a 10-point gap late in the third quarter, when Thompson's two free throws sparked a 10-0 push that included two 3-pointers by James Jones, the second of which tied it at 82 with just over 10 minutes left. Harden had four points in a 6-0 burst that gave Houston a 98-95 edge with under two minutes remaining before James made one free throw and Thompson hit two, and both teams went the final 69 seconds without a point, as regulation ended on a James miss.
GAME NOTEBOOK: James and Beverley were given technical fouls after getting tangled up early in the third quarter, Houston SF Trevor Ariza picked up another for getting in the face of Cleveland C Timofey Mozgov moments later and Thompson and Houston SG Corey Brewer were handed technicals late in the period in a scrum that saw Harden pick up a flagrant for kicking James in the groin. ... A pair of 7-0 runs in the first quarter helped Houston claim a 29-26 lead and the Rockets ended the half with six straight points for a 50-47 lead. ... Cleveland was without All-Star PG Kyrie Irving (shoulder) for the second straight game.