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Harden fires Rockets over Nets
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A 36-POINT display from James Harden and a towering defensive performance from Trevor Ariza helped Houston edge past Brooklyn 122-118 on Monday to hand the Rockets a seventh straight win in the National Basketball Association.
Harden contributed eight rebounds and 11 assists while Eric Gordon added 24 points off the bench as the Rockets improved to 18-7 at the Toyota Center.
But while Harden finished as top-scorer, it was the eye-catching performance of Ariza that helped Houston get over the line. Ariza produced a superb block of a layup attempt from Nets guard Joe Harris shortly before the buzzer to snuff out any chance of Brooklyn forcing overtime.
Nets center Brook Lopez scored 26 points for the visitors with Sean Kilpatrick and Isaiah Whitehead contributing 30 points between them. Jeremy Lin added 10 points and seven assists.
Harden was relieved the Rockets had survived a furious late assault led by Lopez.
“This is the NBA,” Harden said. “You’ve got guys that can get confidence and make shots, and it’s tough to put (the fire) out. Lopez started to get it going early, and they threw the ball to him and he was just scoring. But we got stops when we needed to.”
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, meanwhile, drew consolation from the return of Lin, making his first appearance since November 2.
“It helps having Jeremy back,” Atkinson said. “It just gives us organization. He’s a veteran and he had seven assists in 20 minutes, and I think that was big.
“He knows where to give Brook the ball and when to give Brook the ball, and that’s from his experience.”
The Rockets are now level with Western Conference rivals the Los Angeles Clippers, who improved to 18-7 with a pulsating win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center.
Blake Griffin scored 26 points while Chris Paul added 21 points and 14 assists as the Clippers dug deep to win a nail-biting battle 121-120.
Elsewhere on Monday, it was: Pacers 110, Hornets 94; Heat 112, Wizards 101; Raptors 122, Bucks 100; Mavericks 112, Nuggets 92; and Kings 116, Lakers 92.
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