Westbrook scores 41 as Rockets extend streak to six in Boston

Russell Westbrook scored 41 points and Robert Covington added a career-high 16 rebounds as Houston extended its winning streak in Boston.

Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 41 points, and Robert Covington grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to six games with a thrilling 111-110 overtime victory (box score) on Saturday night in Boston.

James Harden struggled from the field with 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting (29.2%), and he had a crucial turnover late in regulation.

But the 2020 All-Star and former MVP came up clutch late in overtime with a steal and two free throws in the final 30 seconds, which were ultimately the difference in an intense and frantic finish.

The Rockets (39-20) have now won nine of their last 11 games, while the Celtics (41-18) lost for just the third time in their last 14 outings. In potential NBA Finals previews, two of those losses were to Houston.

Westbrook’s 41 points came on a 16-of-27 night (59.3%) from the field, extending his career-long streak of consecutive games with over 52% shooting accuracy to seven. He’s scored over 30 points in six of them.

Prior to these last seven games, the longest such streak by the former MVP over his first 12 NBA seasons was three games.

[lawrence-related id=25790]

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 32 points and 13 rebounds, though the defense of Covington and P.J. Tucker helped limit him to an inefficient 9-of-27 night (33.3%) from the field.

Covington and Tucker combined for six blocked shots and 29 rebounds on Houston’s front line, with six of Tucker’s 13 boards coming on offense.

[lawrence-related id=25442]

Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown added 26 and 22 points, respectively, and each had a 3-pointer for the Celtics in the final 15 seconds of regulation to force an improbable overtime. Houston had led by six with less than 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter before Boston’s rally.

In a sign of the significance of Saturday’s nationally televised showdown of contenders, Houston’s All-Star backcourt of Westbrook and Harden immediately embraced each other once the game went final.

The Rockets will look to run their winning streak to seven games when they visit the New York Knicks (18-42) on Monday night. Tip-off from Madison Square Garden is set for 6:00 p.m. Central.

[lawrence-related id=24641]