Harden triple-double lifts Rockets to 8th in row
TORONTO -- James Harden scored 40 points and added 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 10th triple-double of the season and the Houston Rockets came back to defeat the Toronto Raptors 129-122 Sunday night to extend their winning streak to eight games.
Harden has had at least a double-double in 17 straight games.
The Raptors led by as many as 13 points and took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. Houston opened the fourth with 15 straight points to take the lead and never gave it back. Harden's 3-pointer with 1:08 to play gave the Rockets an 11-point lead.
Montrezl Harrell scored 28 points and Eric Gordon added 19 -- both off the bench -- and Trevor Ariza had 17 points for Houston (30-9).
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 36 points and DeMarre Carroll added 26. Kyle Lowry scored 12 and Norman Powell and Cory Joseph had 10 each for the Raptors (24-13), who have lost two in a row.
Toronto led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter but settled for a 37-27 lead when Gordon closed the scoring with a 3-pointer. DeRozan led the Raptors with 13 points while Harden had 10 points for Houston, the 46th time this season in which he has scored 10 or more points in a single quarter.
The Rockets whittled Toronto's lead to five points on Harden's turnaround hook shot with 1:09 to play in the first half. Ariza closed the half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors' lead was down to 63-61 at the intermission.
Harden led the scoring with 18 points in the first half. DeRozan had 17.
Houston took the lead when Ryan Anderson opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. The Raptors regained a nine-point lead when Carroll knocked down his second 3-pointer of the second half with 7:31 to play in the third quarter. Carroll made another 3-pointer with 6:13 to play in the quarter and Toronto led 83-70.
Ariza's 3-pointer with 1:40 to play in the third reduced Toronto's lead to six points. Harden made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter and the Raptors led 99-95.
The Rockets scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter -- including two 3-pointers by Ariza -- to lead 110-99.
The Raptors scored their first point of the fourth when Lowry made one of two free throws with 8:50 to play. Toronto, which fell behind by 12 points, pulled back to within five on a pull-up jumper by DeRozan with 7:19 to play.
Gordon completed a 3-point play with his free throw and the Rockets led by eight with 5:54 left. When Harden scored four straight points Houston's lead went to 121-111.
NOTES: Raptors F Patrick Patterson (strained left knee) returned to the lineup Sunday after missing the four previous games. ... Toronto recalled G Fred VanVleet and F Bruno Caboclo from the Raptors 905 of the D-League on Saturday. ... The Rockets' longest winning streak this season is 10. ... The Raptors defeated the Rockets 115-102 on Nov. 23 in Houston in the previous meeting between the teams this season. ... The Rockets assigned F Kyle Wiltjer to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League on Sunday. ... The Rockets are home to the Charlotte Hornets at home on Tuesday for their next game. ... The Raptors will play their next game on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre against the Boston Celtics.