Westbrook, Harden lead biggest comeback win in Rockets history

Led by 59 points from James Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets had a historic comeback from a 25-point deficit to beat the Spurs.

Franchise co-stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 59 points as the Rockets overcame a 25-point deficit Monday night to defeat their in-state rival San Antonio Spurs, 109-107 (box score).

It’s the largest comeback in a victory in Rockets franchise history. Houston trailed by a 69-44 margin with just 1:30 left until halftime, then finished the game on a 65-38 run over the game’s final 25+ minutes.

After allowing 72 points to the Spurs (10-16) in the first half, the Rockets (18-9) put the clamps on defensively in the second half by holding them to 35 points. Bryn Forbes scored 18 points and hit 6-of-9 three-pointers (66.7%) on the night, but his final attempt rimmed out with 22 seconds left and the Spurs trailing by just one point at the time.

Westbrook scored a game-high 31 points (11-of-25 shooting, 44%) and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Harden had 28 points (10-of-29 shooting, 34.5%), eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The two Houston stars and former MVPs combined for the clinching rebound in the final seconds Monday, when San Antonio’s Derrick White intentionally missed a free throw down two points in hopes of his team getting the offensive rebound and a chance to tie or win.

Westbrook secured the loose ball off White’s miss and fired it straight up into the air to allow time to expire. That sent the crowd at Toyota Center home happy, with Houston securing its largest-ever comeback win.

Rebounding and effort plays were critical to the rally by the Rockets, who scored 109 points despite only shooting 11-of-43 (25.6%) from three-point range. They overcame that poor shooting in large part by grabbing 58 rebounds as a team, led by 15 from Clint Capela, 11 by P.J. Tucker, 10 by Westbrook, and eight from Harden.

Though the Rockets didn’t make many treys by their league-leading standards, several of the ones they did hit were quite timely. Harden hit a step-back three-pointer to tie the game at 97 with 5:36 left, and Tucker and Ben McLemore each drilled go-ahead threes on consecutive possessions in the final three-and-a-half minutes.

The Tucker three came off an assist from Capela, who tied his career high with five on the night. The big man also scored 15 points on 77.8% shooting in a team-high 40 minutes, showing how far he’s come in recent seasons at improving his stamina. Before last year, Capela hadn’t averaged 30 minutes per game in any of his first four NBA seasons.

McLemore was one of Houston’s lone bright spots from a shooting perspective, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%) and 4-of-9 (44.4%) on three-pointers. His four three-point makes tied Harden for the team lead, though Harden was much less efficient with 13 attempts.

Harden did make a bit of history with his seven assists, which tied Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy for the team’s all-time assists lead at 4,402.

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The Spurs were led by seven-time All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who had team highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The comeback felt like fitting revenge for the Rockets, who blew a 22-point lead earlier this month in San Antonio in a game remembered most for the Harden dunk that wasn’t counted. Houston protested that game, though the NBA ultimately denied it.

This time, Harden had a key dunk in the fourth quarter that did count.

The Rockets now have two straight off days before beginning a four-game West Coast road trip in Los Angeles against Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the star-studded Clippers (20-8). The Rockets and Clippers split a pair of games in November, with the home team winning both.

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