HOUSTON — James Harden was forced to carry an almost-impossible load on offense for big stretches of this season while many of the Houston Rockets were out with injuries.
Now that the Rockets are at full strength, Harden is enjoying seeing his teammates shine on offense and help Houston make a late push for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Harden scored 28 points and Eric Gordon added 22 as the Rockets cruised to their season-high ninth straight win, 118-106 over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
“It was a total team effort,” Harden said.
The Rockets, whose 11-14 start had them in the basement of the conference standings, now sit in third place, just 3 ½ games behind the Warriors, who they meet next.
A night after Gordon ended a streak of 43 straight games where Harden led the team in scoring, the Beard was Houston’s top scorer again. But Gordon had another strong outing, making five 3-pointers for the third straight game and the fourth in five games.
Harden, who leads the NBA with 36.2 points a game, was asked if it’s a relief to not have to carry the offense every night now that stars such as Clint Capela and Chris Paul have returned from extended absences.
“Yeah,” he said. “I just take what the defense gives me. Making shots or missing shots, I’ll take the same shots every single game … and I got off the ball and multiple guys got open shots. I don’t really try to press anything. I just try to take what they give me and be effective.”
The Rockets won despite a big performance by Kemba Walker, who finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Hornets lost their second in a row.
“For him to come in here and compete at this stage without a lot of his guys out there on the floor says a lot about his character and who he is as a person and as a leader,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said.
Houston led by as many as 28 in the third quarter but a big run by the Hornets cut the lead to 13 to start the fourth.
Coach Mike D’Antoni was a bit disappointed that his team let Charlotte get back in it after building such a huge lead.
“Maybe it’s a new reality and maybe players need to get used to that — that you can’t take your foot off the pedal,” D’Antoni said.
A three-point play by Walker cut the lead to 10 with about 3 1/2 minutes left. But a 7-2 spurt by Houston, highlighted by a dunk from Kenneth Faried, made it 116-101 with about 90 seconds left and Houston’s starters went to the bench.
Walker was encouraged that the Hornets kept fighting despite the early hole.
“I’m not a big fan of moral victories, but hopefully we can build off this, especially as far as our energy and our passion,” he said.
Houston got 19 points and 15 rebounds from Capela. Paul had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Harden had 10 assists and six rebounds.
A night after squeaking past the Mavericks 94-93, the Rockets led this one for all but the first few minutes. The Hornets scored the first five points with a hook shot from Willy Hernangomez and a 3 from Jeremy Lamb before the Rockets scored the next eight points to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Houston led by 19 after one and was up 71-44 at halftime.
THUNDER 98, JAZZ 89
SALT LAKE CITY — Dennis Schroder scored 24 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, and Oklahoma City beat Utah to sweep the season series.
Westbrook appeared to argue with fans of the Jazz, who knocked the Thunder out of the postseason last year.
Paul George chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds. Steven Adams and Jerami Grant added 12 points apiece.
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points for Utah, which shot just 36 percent from the field. Royce O’Neale added 17 points while Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
CLIPPERS 140, CELTICS 115
LOS ANGELES — Lou Williams scored 34 points and became the NBA’s career leader in points off the bench as Los Angeles beat Boston for its fifth straight win.
Williams came into the game needing 28 points to pass Dell Curry, who had 11,147 points when not starting. Williams surpassed Curry with 9:53 remaining in the fourth quarter with a driving layup.
It is also Williams’ 29th career game with 30 or more points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, starters and reserves were tracked in box scores beginning with the 1970-71 season.
Terry Rozier led the Celtics with 26 points while Jaylen Brown added 22 and Kyrie Irving 18. Boston had a three-game winning streak snapped as it was trying to become the second Eastern Conference team this season to win all four games in California.
NETS 103, PISTONS 75
NEW YORK — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points and Brooklyn routed Detroit to move into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Allen Crabbe finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Rodions Kurucs scored 13 points, and Joe Harris and Caris LeVert each added 12 as the Nets took control early in the game and never let up.
The Nets (36-33) won their fourth straight and leapfrogged Detroit (34-32) into the No. 6 spot in their final game before leaving for a seven-game road trip.
Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 13 points and 20 rebounds. Blake Griffin finished with 10 points, but only shot 1 of 10 from the field as Detroit was held to its lowest point total of the season. The Pistons had their five-game winning streak snapped.
CAVALIERS 126, RAPTORS 101
CLEVELAND — Collin Sexton scored 28 points, Kevin Love had 16 points and 18 rebounds, and Cleveland routed Toronto.
Toronto’s Serge Ibaka and Cleveland’s Marquese Chriss were ejected for fighting late in the third quarter. Ibaka went to the floor after the two were battling for position under Cleveland’s basket as the Raptors attempted a full-court pass that sailed out of bounds.
Ibaka shoved Chriss from behind and grabbed near his neck before throwing a punch. Chriss responded with a punch before players from both teams separated the two. Ibaka immediately headed for the locker room and both players were kicked out after the officials conferred.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points after sitting out Sunday’s victory in Miami, but his return didn’t help the Raptors, who have the league’s second-best record.
WIZARDS 121, KINGS 15
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime, helping Washington beat Sacramento despite twice giving back double-digit leads.
Beal added nine rebounds and nine assists for the 11th-place Wizards, who moved within 3 1/2 games of the eighth Eastern Conference playoff spot currently held by idle Miami.
Jabari Parker added 18 points off the bench and Bobby Portis had 17 points and 13 rebounds as Washington began a five-game homestand.
De’Aaron Fox scored 23 points for the Kings, who started Monday four games back of three teams tied for the last three Western Conference playoff spots.
