HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets were clinging to a lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter on Thursday night when James Harden told coach Mike D’Antoni he needed to come out for a bit to rest — something the reigning MVP never does.
D’Antoni was perfectly happy to fulfill Harden’s request, and the move could not have worked better for the Rockets.
Harden returned with about five minutes left to take over the game, scoring 11 points during a big run to cap a 50-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist night in a 126-111 victory.
“You play 45, 46 minutes, it’s difficult on anybody in this league,” Harden said. “The guys are so talented and great, so that little period that I had to rest, came back in re-energized and ready to make good plays.”
Chris Paul was surprised when Harden asked for the break.
“It’s very rare that James or any of us would take ourselves out,” Paul said. “But … I think that gave him that quick little breather that he needed to come in and finish it.”
Harden grabbed his 10th rebound with less than 90 seconds left to give him his second triple-double this season and the 37th of his career.
LeBron James finished with 29 points for the Lakers, who had won their previous two games.
James was unhappy that the Lakers sent Harden to the line 19 times, where he only missed once.
“You can’t put him on the line … he’s already talented,” James said. “He can put the ball in the hole multiple ways. He can drive, step-back 3s and you (can’t) give him easy points.”
Houston’s lead was three after Kyle Kuzma’s soaring dunk, but Harden was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to make it 112-106.
Harden then made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 12 and cause Lakers coach Luke Walton to call a timeout. James was in Harden’s face on the second one and Harden fell to the court as the ball rolled around the rim for a couple of seconds before dropping in.
“He’s a superstar and he makes tough shots,” Walton said. “But that whole thing started with us giving him three free throws.”
James added a dunk before Clint Capela and Harden made consecutive baskets to compete the 13-2 run and make it 122-108.
It was the first meeting between these teams since Paul and Rajon Rondo got into a fight on Oct. 20 that led to suspensions for both players and Brandon Ingram. There wasn’t an altercation this time around in a game where Rondo sat out as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken right hand. But there was a spate of technical fouls late in the third quarter that led to the ejection of Nene.
He was called for a foul after being knocked to the ground trying to defend Kuzma as he drove to the lane. He yelled at officials and received a technical foul.
Kuzma made his free throws but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the technical shot.
Nene made a hook shot before fouling Kuzma again on the next possession. He continued to scream at officials and was hit with a second technical foul and was ejected. Harden attempted to calm him down, but Nene continued to be agitated until he was escorted to the locker room.
SPURS 125, CLIPPERS 87
SAN ANTONIO — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and San Antonio won its fourth straight, topping Los Angeles for its largest win of the season.
Rudy Gay added 21 points and DeMar DeRozan had 14 points and seven assists for San Antonio.
The Spurs held an opponent under 100 points for the third straight game while winning the first four games of a six-game homestand.
Tobias Harris had 17 points for Los Angeles and Danilo Gallinari and Avery Bradley added 15 apiece. The Clippers have lost two straight and four of five.
MAGIC 97, BULLS 91
MEXICO CITY — Nikola Vucevic scored 26 points, including a tiebreaking jumper with 28 seconds remaining, and the Orlando Magic snapped a three-game losing streak with a 97-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night in their first of two games in Mexico.
Vucevic shot 11 for 21 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds, while D.J. Augustin added 15 points for the Magic.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points but the Bulls (6-23) lost for the 10th time in their last 11 games and remained with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
SUNS 99, MAVERICKS 89
PHOENIX — T.J. Warren scored a season-high 30 points and the Phoenix Suns snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating the Dallas Mavericks 99-89 on Thursday night.
Jamal Crawford added 17 points and Josh Jackson 14 for the Suns. Trevor Ariza had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Dallas loss came in the season debut of Dirk Nowitzki.
When he entered the game, it marked his 21st season with the Mavericks, most by a player with one team in NBA history.
Harrison Barnes scored 15 but on only 6-of-15 shooting for the Mavericks.