• James Harden has 36 points and 13 assists to lead the Rockets to a 129-112 rout of the Warriors.
HOUSTON (AP) — Despite an entirely different lineup of Golden State Warriors, James Harden was still out for blood Wednesday night.
Harden had 36 points and 13 assists, and the Houston Rockets routed Golden State 129-112, sending the shorthanded Warriors to their sixth loss in eight games this season.
Less than six months ago, a vastly different roster of Warriors ended another Houston playoff run for the third time in four seasons.
“That’s a part of the league,” Harden said about the changing faces. “It’s a part of the NBA. There’s been a lot of different faces since I’ve been here. It was bound to happen at some point and it is what it is.”
Harden again appeared to be moving past his early shooting woes, going 6-of-16 from 3point range. Since going 17of-79 on 3s in his first six games, Harden has made 13 of 32 the last two.
Harden’s 292 points through the first eight games (36.5 points per game) mark the highest point total through eight games since Michael Jordan had 303 in 1988-89.
Russell Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. P.J. Tucker had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Clint Capela added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Austin Rivers was 4-for-4 from 3 with 12 points.
Alec Burks led Golden State with 28 points. Eric Paschall had 19 points, and Glenn Robinson III added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The rookie Paschall was challenged with guarding Harden for much of the game.
“It’s just hard because he’s so dynamic and he’s a great passer,” Paschall said. “And during his (isolation plays), you can’t really touch him because he’s so smart on how he draws the fouls. As a team, we did a good job in the first half, but then he got hot and started hitting 3s.”
Already reeling from injuries to Splash Brothers Stephen Curry (broken hand) and Klay Thompson (knee surgery) and the loss of Kevin Durant, the Warriors were without D’Angelo Russell (sprained right ankle) and Draymond Green (torn ligament in left index finger) for a third straight game. Russell, who sat on the Golden State bench, could return Friday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Golden State fell to 2-6 for the first time in eight years.