James Harden, Rockets Outlast Celtics; Kyrie Irving Held to 18 Points
James Harden posted 26 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals as the Houston Rockets won their 15th straight game and beat the Boston Celtics 123-120 at the Toyota Center.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon scored 29 off the bench to lead all players. Marcus Morris led the Celtics with 21 points.
After Gordon made one of two free throws to put the Rockets up three with 2.3 seconds left, the Celtics nearly pulled off a miracle to tie the game.
Morris threw a full-court pass to Marcus Smart on a dime, and the former Oklahoma State star got off a turnaround three-point attempt. However, the jumper fell just short, and the Rockets held on for the victory:
The Celtics led 113-107 with four minutes remaining after a Terry Rozier three-pointer, but the Rockets proceeded to go on a 12-2 run.
The key sequence involved Rockets forward Trevor Ariza, who hit a three-pointer, stole a pass and made a two-pointer on consecutive plays to turn a 115-112 deficit into a 117-115 lead with 1:16 remaining:
Ariza finished with 21 points and three steals.
An Irving layup cut the lead to two, but the Rockets hit just enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The story of this game was the stellar bench play on both sides. The four Celtics reserves outscored the starters, 67-53, with each bench player scoring in double digits. Notably, backup center Greg Monroe scored 18 points in just 19 minutes of play as he helped the reserves shoot 56.8 percent from the field.
For Houston, Gordon hit seven of his 11 three-point attempts in just 27 minutes:
Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Sean Grande noted that Gordon joined some good company:
Nene Hilario and Luc Mbah a Moute also combined to score 15 more in limited action.
Some starters had uncharacteristically quiet nights. Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving only scored 13 before a late five-point flurry. His poor shooting night included a layup attempt that somehow spun in and out of the basket, as he finished with 18 points on six of 17 shot attempts.
Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul got into early foul trouble, but he stayed in the game and posted 15 points and seven assists.
With the win, Houston gained sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with a 49-13 record. Boston fell to 44-20 and sits 1.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for first place in the East.
