The Houston Rockets were down two starters and three rotation players due to injuries, facing an opponent in the Indiana Pacers that entered Friday’s game at 7-4 and on a four-game winning streak.
It didn’t matter much in the end, because they had James Harden.
Led by 44 points (13-of-26 shooting, 6-of-14 on three-pointers) in 40 minutes from the NBA’s leading scorer and 2018 Most Valuable Player (MVP), the Rockets used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Pacers and win their sixth consecutive game.
The 111-102 victory improved the Rockets to 9-3 on the 2019-20 season, which ranks second in the Western Conference.
Harden — who scored 17 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter — also had eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
With center Clint Capela (concussion), forward Danuel House Jr. (bruised back), and guard Eric Gordon (knee surgery) all out with various injuries, the Rockets still found a way to win thanks to Harden and key contributions from replacement starters Ben McLemore and Tyson Chandler.
McLemore made four three-pointers and scored a season-high 21 points, while Chandler had provided strong rim protection and had Houston’s best plus/minus at +24 in his 25 minutes played.
Russell Westbrook had 17 points and a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter, along with eight rebounds and six assists. However, his shooting slump continued with just five makes in 21 attempts.
With Capela unavailable as a rim protector, the Pacers were led by promising young big man Domantas Sabonis, who scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds (box score). Indiana led by four points with under nine minutes left before Harden led Houston’s decisive run.
Westbrook is likely to sit out during Saturday’s game at Minnesota for planned maintenance, since it’s a back-to-back and he’s still recovering from an offseason knee scope. However, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said before Friday’s game that House might return for that game, which could help to fill Westbrook’s rotation minutes.
