Harden, Harrell ignite Rockets in rout of Clippers
HOUSTON -- James Harden recorded his seventh triple-double on the season while second-year forward Montrezl Harrell scored a career-high 29 points off the bench to fuel the Houston Rockets' 140-116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Toyota Center.
Harden finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Harrell helped finish off the Clippers (22-13) with 13 fourth-quarter points to propel the Rockets (25-9) to a hard-fought victory. Houston led by 25 points midway through the second quarter but needed Harden and Harrell to carry it to victory.
Reserve guard Raymond Felton paired 26 points with eight assists off the bench while center DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who dropped their fifth consecutive game. Los Angeles guard Austin Rivers and coach Doc Rivers were ejected 25 seconds apart in the second quarter, with the former sent to the locker room following his contact with official J.T. Orr.
Houston scored a season-high 74 points in the first half and kept rolling offensively, nailing 14 3-pointers while shooting 55.6 percent. Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon shot a combined 9 for 15 from behind the arc in totaling 37 points. Patrick Beverley added 15 points and seven assists for Houston.
Instead of coming undone, the shorthanded Clippers rallied following the ejections. Rockets forward Ryan Anderson sank the technical free throw after the ejection of the elder Rivers, boosting the Houston lead to 60-35 with 6:13 remaining in the first half. The Clippers responded.
Keyed by a pair of 3-pointers by Marreese Speights, the Clippers fought back with an 18-4 run that cut the deficit to 64-53. Houston matched its first-period output with 37 points in the second quarter but its defense was in tatters after Speights put the Clippers on his back. In the third, Felton and Jordan carried the torch and worked in tandem to whittle a 17-point deficit at the break to 102-96 at the 1:23 mark.
Felton and Jordan were unstoppable, combining for 32 points with Jordan adding seven rebounds and Felton four assists. The Clippers shot 17 of 27 in the third quarter, and despite Houston closing the period with 108 points, the lead stood at a modest 10 points with the Clippers set to pounce late.
NOTES: With G Chris Paul working his way back from a left hamstring injury, the Clippers opted to rest him against the Rockets after Paul played 30 minutes on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Paul had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first action after missing three games with the injury. Austin Rivers started in place of Paul. ... Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni has been determining his starter at center based on matchups, and he decided that veteran C Nene would be the better choice against Clippers C DeAndre Jordan. Montrezl Harrell started Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks. ... Clippers G J.J. Redick returned from a two-game injury hiatus and rejoined the starting lineup. Redick missed time with a sore left hamstring.