All-Star guard James Harden had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists as the Houston Rockets pulled away late from the Charlotte Hornets in a 125-110 home victory (box score) on Tuesday night.
It’s the first time since early January that the NBA’s leading scorer has scored 40+ in consecutive games, signaling that the 2018 MVP has clearly turned things around after his recent slump.
Harden is also averaging 10.5 assists per game during his last two outings, representing the first time since those Jan. 3 and Jan. 8 games that he’s averaged double-digit assists over a two-game span.
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It marks the sixth win in eight games for the surging Rockets (32-18), who overcame a halftime deficit to outscore the Hornets (16-35) by a 16-point margin in the second half. Charlotte was led by 20 points and 15 rebounds from Miles Bridges, a lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Danuel House Jr. boosted the undersized Rockets with 22 points and nine rebounds, including 6-of-11 (54.5%) on 3-pointers. P.J. Tucker started at center for the fourth time in five games and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds along with 13 points, three steals, and three blocks.
🎥 All 6 three pointers + a big time alley-oop tonight from @DanuelHouseJr. pic.twitter.com/Fd2ZwVp3kO
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 5, 2020
Danuel House on the Rockets allowing 22 second chance points: "We're smaller. It comes with the territory. The only thing you can do is adjust because the points are already on the board… You got to give up something. Can't have everything in your favor." pic.twitter.com/6TwW03hJPU
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) February 5, 2020
Guards Austin Rivers and Ben McLemore combined for 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting (50%), including six made 3-pointers. Eric Gordon scored 16 points but was very inefficient in doing so, shooting 6-of-22 (27.3%) overall and a season-worst 0-of-12 from 3-point range.
Houston’s defense improved as Tuesday’s game moved along, with the Hornets’ scoring going down from quarter to quarter (34, 29, 25, 22).
The Rockets were shorthanded in Tuesday’s game, with All-Star guard Russell Westbrook sitting out with a sprained left thumb and usual starting center Clint Capela out due to a lingering heel injury.
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Head coach Mike D’Antoni indicated pregame that Westbrook was likely to return for the team’s next game Thursday in Los Angeles. He also noted that Capela could be available for part of the upcoming back-to-back — either Thursday against the Lakers or Friday in Phoenix.
Russell Westbrook is out, per MDA. Ben McLemore will start in his place.
Coach asked if that means he could play both nights of the back-to-back in LA/PHX, and he was told no. Coach was asked which he would play, to which he responded, “I think you can figure that one out.”
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) February 4, 2020
Mike D'Antoni says Clint Capela has made progress on the heel injury: "I heard he's getting better."
Said Capela "could" play half of the upcoming back-to-back.
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) February 4, 2020
However, with Capela’s name mentioned frequently in trade rumors at the moment, it remains to be seen if he’s still on the roster. Houston’s next game in Los Angeles tips off at 9:30 p.m. Houston time on Thursday, which is more than seven hours after the NBA’s 2019-20 trade deadline.
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Mike D'Antoni's says the Rockets will continue to use small-ball lineups when Clint Capela comes back.
"Yeah, but obviously Clint will be a really big piece to what we do… If that's not working, we have to get people at the rim. We'll have this to go to." pic.twitter.com/fKMuM5Wtmc
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) February 5, 2020