Harden says Rockets can improve even more

James Harden had his 10th triple-double of the season to help the Houston Rockets run their winning streak to eight games. He still sees a lot of room for improvement.

“One hundred percent,” Harden said after finishing with 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ 129-122 victory at Toronto on Sunday night.

“We’re almost halfway through the season and we’re a fairly new team still, and I’ll get better and my turnovers will start dropping just when I get familiar with what different defenses are doing, but until then, we’re rolling, guys are happy and we’re making shots.”

Harden also had 10 of Houston’s 15 turnovers. “I’ve got the ball in my hands 90 percent of the time, so it’s going to happen,” he said.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Harden is the first player with a 40-point tripledouble and 10 or more turnovers since turnovers became official in the 1977-78 season.

Harden shot 13-for-26 from the field, finishing with 30plus points and 10-plus assists for a league-leading 13th time this season. Montrezl Harrell had 28 points in 26 minutes off the bench on 12-for-13 shooting, with Eric Gordon adding 19 for Houston.

Down 99-95 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets went on a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead. DeRozan’s run of 12 points for the Raptors cut into that edge, but Toronto got no closer than five points.