James Harden matched the Rockets’ franchise record for career triple-doubles to lead the Houston to a dominating 132-98 victory over the shorthanded Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
Harden finished with 15 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds to post his 14th career triple-double and equal the mark set by NBA Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon.
Harden needed only 30 minutes to deliver his fifth triple-double of the season in front of a crowd of 15,000 at the Rockets’ Toyota Center.
Photo: AP
The Rockets produced a season-high 40 assists on 50 field goals, their most since February 1995.
“Everybody is getting shots, everybody is scoring the basketball. Everybody is happy,” Harden said.
The Rockets improved to 19-7 for the season and won their eighth consecutive game.
Houston also flirted with the NBA record for three-pointers, hitting 22 of 42 from behind the arc while cruising to the win.
The Rockets extended their league record for consecutive games with at least 10 three-pointers at the 7 minute, 13 second mark of the second quarter on a three-pointer from Sam Dekker.
Forward Ryan Anderson led all five Houston starters in double figures with 22 points. He was four of seven from three-point range, while forward Trevor Ariza finished five of seven from beyond the arc.
In San Antonio, Texas, Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points as the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 108-101 win over the Boston Celtics at the AT&T Center.
Pau Gasol added 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Tony Parker had eight points in a two-and-a-half-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to help San Antonio withstand a Celtics comeback.
Parker finished with 16 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as San Antonio improved to 20-5 for the season.
Manu Ginobili added 12 points, while Dewayne Dedmon and Patty Mills had 10 each.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Rodney Hood scored 25 points and Gordon Hayward added 17 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 109-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shelvin Mack added 15 points and five assists off the bench, while Rudy Gobert notched his 16th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Utah led from start to finish while shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 13 of 23 from three-point range.
Russell Westbrook tallied 27 points, six rebounds and five assists for Oklahoma City.
Enes Kanter added 19 points off the bench for the Thunder, who lost for the third time in four games.
In Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to power the Memphis Grizzlies to an easy 93-85 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played without their three stars — LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
The Cavaliers decided to give the three the night off and it showed as Cleveland never led in the game and trailed by 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Memphis got a game-high 20 points from guard Troy Daniels off the bench and he hit four of eight three-pointers.
Swingman Tony Allen finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block.
Guard Toney Douglas chipped in 14 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Grizzlies.
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