Rockets at Pacers
The Houston Rockets will again look to guard James Harden to carry them through the finale of a five-game road trip Sunday against the Indiana Pacers. The Rockets are 2-2 on the trip and just 4-6 in their last 10 games, but Harden mostly maintained his remarkable pace during the stretch and he took his game to another level Friday in Philadelphia.
The All-Star led Houston to a 123-118 victory with 51 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history with multiple 50-point triple-doubles in the same season. "He played about as good as you can play," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "I've been around a lot of players, but it doesn't get much better than that. I've never seen better than that." Harden is averaging 34 points to go along with 11.8 assists on the road trip and he nearly averaged a triple-double in two meetings last season with the Pacers, who survived in a 115-111 overtime victory against Sacramento at home Friday night. Paul George scored 33 points, including several big baskets down the stretch, as Indiana overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit to improve to 6-2 at home against the Western Conference.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (35-15): Nene received a rare start at center and responded with a season-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting against Philadelphia, while regular starter Clint Capela performed well in the reserve role (17 points, six rebounds in 21 minutes). Guard Eric Gordon (back) missed his second straight game and fellow perimeter threat Trevor Ariza continued a shooting slump. Ariza made 1-of-6 shots - all 3-point attempts - and is 8-for-32 from the floor on the road trip.
ABOUT THE PACERS (24-22): Forward C.J. Miles has started the last three games and continues to show no hesitation when given the chance to fire away, taking 22 3-pointers over the past three games. He hit six of his nine long-range attempts against Sacramento and is shooting 47.4 percent from beyond the arc over a span of 10 games. Indiana still attempts nearly 17 fewer 3-pointers per game than league-leading Houston.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. George made 16-of-17 free throws Friday after attempting an average of 4.4 over his previous nine games.
2. Rockets F Ryan Anderson is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range on the road, compared to 29.7 percent at home.
3. Houston plays eight of its next 10 games at home after battling the Pacers.