HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- After attending the memorial service for Kobe and Gianna Bryant earlier in the day, James Harden returned to score 37 points in the Rockets xxx-xxx win over the New York Knicks.
Harden, along with P.J. Tucker and Russell Westbrook, arrived at Toyota Center a little more than an hour before tip-off following a flight back to Houston from Los Angeles, but Harden showed no-signs of jetlag, scoring 31 points in the first half on 12-of-16 shooting. The Rockets led 36-33 after a quarter, and built the lead up to 11 on DeMarre Carroll's three-pointer with 7:29 left in the half, but the Knicks clawed to within four only to see Houston close the half on a 19-8 burst to take a 72-57 lead into the locker room.
New York closed to within eight in the third quarter, but Austin Rivers scored the final seven points of the period to make it a 15-point game again, and the Rockets pushed the lead to as many as 25 in the fourth only to see the Knicks end the game with a 20-6 run.
The win is the Rockets fourth straight and it improves them to 37-20 on the season. They are now a game up on Utah for fourth place in the West and within two games of Denver for second.
Ben McLemore scored 17 points off the bench, connecting on four three-pointers, while Eric Gordon added 16 points, though he left the game in the third quarter with a sore knee.
Rivers scored 14, all in the second half.
A sore left thumb kept Westbrook out of the lineup for Houston.
R.J. Barrett's 21 points led the Knicks. Julius Randle added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Rockets will be in action again on Wednesday night when they host the Memphis Grizzlies at Toyota Center.
