Rockets top Grizzlies
Harden has second straight triple-double in Houston’s win
MEMPHIS: James Harden may be getting on a roll, notching his second straight triple-double to help the Houston Rockets grab their third consecutive win.
Harden had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Rockets weathered a fourth-quarter burst to beat the Grizzlies 10597 on Saturday night.
Harden, who had 50 points in a triple-double in the Rockets’ victory over the Lakers on Thursday, recorded his 10th assist on a pass to Clint Capela with 21.3 seconds left as the Grizzlies tried to trap defensively in hopes of whittling the Houston lead in the final minute.
Asked if he would have gotten the assist without the Memphis defensive pressure, Harden replied with a sly grin through his thick, black beard : “That’s a good question. You never know, right?”
Capela’s basket gave him 26 points to go with 10 rebounds. Gerald Green scored 17 points.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 22 points, while Marc Gasol added 17 points and nine rebounds. JaMychal Green had 13 points.
The Rockets made 13 three-pointers, near their average, compared to only five for the Grizzlies.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting there,” Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of his team’s three-point defence.
“We’ve got schemes in place to protect us from those, and we were just late in our rotations.”
The Rockets appeared to be coasting in the fourth, holding a 15-point lead with about seven minutes remaining, but Memphis clicked off a 14-5 run to cut it to 97-91. But the Grizzlies got no closer.
The run was fuelled by rookie Jevon Carter making his first appearance of the season. He finished with 11 points with a couple of steals and a blocked shot. His defence sparked the Grizzlies’ rally that at least made the ending interesting.
“It was just good to be out there,” Carter said of his debut, when he guarded Harden and Chris Paul.
“It was fun. I’m a competitor. I want to play against the best and at this level, that’s just what it’s going to be night-in and nightout.”
A trio of three-pointers by Gerald Green reversed the momentum gained when Memphis scored 11 straight points to open the third period. Green collected 12 points in the third, helping Houston maintain a 79-65 lead in the fourth.
“Gerald Green came in and gave us a boost,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said.
“It was something that he was missing in the first half, like he was out of wind.” — AP