James Harden Triple-Double Pushes Rockets to Win over LeBron James, Cavaliers

James Harden and the Houston Rockets prevailed against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113 in a Thursday battle between early MVP candidates at the Toyota Center.

Harden's triple-double spearheaded the victorious effort as he finished with 35 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals. James countered with 33 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while Jeff Green carried Cleveland's offense for stretches with 27 points.

Houston has won four in a row and is tied with the Golden State Warriors atop the Western Conference at 9-3, while Cleveland's slow start continued as it fell to 5-7.

Harden Directs Houston Offense, Clint Capela Makes Clutch Plays

The Cavaliers may be three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, but this was a mismatch on paper entering the contest.

Cleveland was last in the league with a 112.4 defensive rating, per NBA.com, while the Rockets were fourth with a 108.4 offensive rating. It was no surprise when Harden had the Rockets at 100 points by the end of the third quarter.

He was the primary facilitator as usual, handling the ball on almost every possession and placing stress on the defense a number of ways. He drilled six three-pointers and forced defenders to honor his shot, which in turn allowed him to dart through the lane and draw contact (13-of-14 shooting on free throws) and find his teammates at the rim with his assists.

He joined impressive company in the process:

Despite his brilliance, the offense stalled in the fourth quarter with just 17 points. Cleveland went on a 13-1 run in the final minutes and nearly came back from a 111-98 hole, but Clint Capela rescued the home team by flushing down a Harden alley-oop to stem the tide and converting a putback with 10 seconds remaining to open a four-point advantage.

Capela finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 boards, while Eric Gordon (20 points) and Trevor Ariza (17 points) combined for seven three-pointers.

The constant perimeter shooting was business as usual for a team that attempted an NBA-high 44.5 three-pointers per game coming into Thursday's contest, but it was just 16-of-46 shooting as a whole. The lackluster shooting and 22 turnovers slowed the offense at times, but 17 offensive rebounds—including Capela's critical one in the waning moments—helped Houston overcome.

James and Green Not Enough to Keep Up

The Rockets were brave enough to troll James with an Arthur-inspired pregame video and survive to tell the tale:

He certainly responded in kind even in defeat and consistently attacked the rim with tenacity despite rolling his ankle in the first quarter:

His final stat line and dunks were impressive, but it wasn't all positive for the four-time MVP Thursday. He appeared to press at times and committed nine of Cleveland's 19 turnovers as the visitors were sloppy for stretches trying to keep up with Houston's quick start.

He received help from Green, but Kevin Love (17 points) was the only other Cavalier to score more than 13 points, and he fouled out in the fourth quarter and wasn't there to box out Capela at the end.

Cleveland can at least take solace knowing Green put on a show with 20 points in the second quarter, which helped the visitors turn an 18-point deficit into a 67-65 halftime lead. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports had some fun with Green's second quarter:

However, he scored just seven points after halftime as the Cavaliers didn't have the firepower surrounding James to come away with the win.

Cleveland will look to turn things around Saturday as it continues its four-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks, while the Rockets will remain home for a Saturday showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies.