D'Antoni gets 500th win as Rockets top Bulls
CHICAGO -- Despite a slow start, the Houston Rockets made sure coach Mike D'Antoni got his 500th career NBA coaching win Friday night at the United Center.
The Rockets overcame a 13-point first-quarter deficit and cruised to a 115-94 victory against the Chicago Bulls, avoiding their first three-game losing streak of the season.
James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists to lead the way for the Rockets (45-21), who swept the two-game season series from the Bulls (31-34). Lou Williams had 18 points, Clint Capela added 17 points, Trevor Ariza had 13 and Ryan Anderson finished with 21 points after missing a game with back spasms.
Trailing 49-47 with 2:58 left in the second quarter, Houston outscored Chicago 17-0 over the next 4:29 -- lapsing into the third. The Rockets outscored the Bulls 45-14 from that point late in the second through the end of the third to lead 92-63.
Dwyane Wade had 21 points in his return from a two-game injury absence, but it wasn't enough to keep Chicago from losing its season-high fourth straight game.
Jimmy Butler added 16 points and Cameron Payne had 11 off the bench for the Bulls, who fell to ninth in the Eastern Conference after the Milwaukee Bucks moved past them with a 99-85 win against the Indiana Pacers.
Chicago got off to a great start by shooting 14-for-23 in the first quarter (60.9 percent). Wade had 12 points in the first quarter and 21 at the half, but didn't score a single point in the second half. Butler had 10 points at the half.
The Rockets began their charge in the second quarter, led by Harden and Williams. Williams scored eight points in the first six minutes and Harden scored six of his 13 first-half points in a 9-0 run during the final 2:08.
NOTES: F Bobby Portis made his ninth start of the season for Chicago, which is 4-5 in games he starts. ... Bulls G Dwyane Wade went through a full shootaround session Friday morning and played after missing two games with a left quadriceps strain. ... Houston assigned F/C Chinanu Onuaku and G Isaiah Taylor to the D-League. ... Rockets G James Harden had scored 30-plus points in three straight games, but finished with 19 points.