Harden drops 35 as Rockets fend off Raptors
TORONTO (AP) James Harden scored 35 points, Gerald Green had 11 of his 18 in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 107-95 on Tuesday night.
Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers each scored 13 points as the Rockets won their sixth straight, matching a season high.
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and Serge Ibaka had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Toronto. Pascal Siakam had 17 points, and Danny Green 14 as the Raptors had their seven-game home winning streak snapped.
Harden, the NBA's leading scorer, made 12 of 30 shots, including three of nine from long range. He was perfect at the foul line, hitting all eight of his attempts.
Harden has scored 28 or more points in 39 straight games, the second-longest streak in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain (71 games) holds the record.
The Raptors overcame a 22-point second quarter deficit to reclaim the lead in the third, but couldn't hold on in the fourth. The Rockets turned it on, connecting on seven of their first eight shot from 3-point range. Houston made 15 of 34 attempts from beyond the arc.
Harden missed seven of 10 shot attempts, but scored nine points in the first as the Rockets led 23-19 after one.
Houston opened the second with a 19-4 run to take a 42-23 lead at 7:28. Green and Rivers each scored seven in the quarter and Houston led 55-37 at halftime. For the Raptors, it was their lowest-scoring half of the season.
Toronto roared back as Houston missed 11 of its first 12 shot attempts to begin the second half. Siakam's basket at 4:44 of the third put the Raptors up 60-59, erasing what had been a 22-point deficit. Siakam scored 15 in the quarter and the Rockets were 4-for-23 shooting as Toronto took a 71-69 lead into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Rockets: F Kenneth Faried (left hip) and G Iman Shumpert (right calf) were inactive. Coach Mike D'Antoni said both are day-to-day. ... Chris Paul led the Rockets with 10 assists, while Clint Capela had 15 rebounds. ... The Rockets have won four straight road games and eight of 11. They're 17-16 away from home. ... Houston had scored 17 points off 10 Toronto turnovers before allowing any of their own. The Raptors finished with 13 turnovers, leading to 26 points.
Raptors: Ibaka had a season-high five blocks. ... The Raptors dropped to 9-1 on Tuesdays.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host Philadelphia on Friday.
Raptors: Visit New Orleans on Friday.
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