Friday 28 December 2018 08:38, UK
James Harden matched his career high for three-pointers as the Houston Rockets extended their home-court winning streak to eight consecutive games with a 127-113 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Harden scored a game-high 45 points, his eighth consecutive game with at least 30, and hit 9-of-18 three-pointers to pace the Rockets to their eighth win in nine games.
He survived a cool spell following a red-hot start only to catch fire again with four consecutive threes to help Houston pull away late.
The Rockets supplied Harden with ample help as Clint Capela produced a double-double (24 points, 18 rebounds) while Eric Gordon scored 20 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Austin Rivers and Gerald Green scored 10 points apiece off the Rockets bench.
Houston, once 0-5 with point guard Chris Paul unavailable, have won three successive games without him.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 23 points and 11 assists. Marcus Morris added 19 points before being ejected with 4:38 to play following his second technical foul.
Jaylen Brown tallied 18 off the bench for Boston, who erased a 17-point lead before falling behind for good in the third.
The Rockets endured wild swings of proficiency shooting the three-ball, yet went 18 of 45 from deep.
Harden was ablaze in the first quarter, scoring 17 of the Rockets' 35 points in the opening frame while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc.
Houston carried an 11-point lead into the second quarter and extended it even while Harden sat, building a 50-33 advantage by shooting 62.5 per cent while hitting 8-of-17 threes before Boston stemmed the tide with a timeout at the 8:13 mark.
The Celtics responded immediately following that break in the action, adjusting their defense on Harden and finally discovering their own offensive rhythm.
While the Rockets shot 3-of-14 down the stretch of the first half, Boston mounted a 22-7 surge with Irving sinking three technical free throws as Morris chipped in with back-to-back three-pointers to fuel the comeback.
Boston held Harden scoreless (on 0-for-6 shooting) in the second quarter. Irving and Morris each tallied 12 points by the break and, when Harden extended his dry spell to 11 consecutive misses, the Celtics finally forged ahead 77-76 when Irving completed a dazzling lay-up with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
That lead was the first for Boston since 10-8 in the first quarter. It was short-lived, and when Rivers beat the buzzer by banking in a three to cap the third, the Rockets led 92-86 and pulled away in the fourth quarter to wrap up the win.
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