Rockets Beat Raptors Behind James Harden’s Triple Double

The hottest team in the NBA in first part of 2017 is the Houston Rockets, who won their eighth straight game on January 8th. The Rockets took on the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors in Toronto, winning 129-122 behind a huge night for James Harden.

Harden scored 40 points, had 11 assists, and 10 rebounds for his 10th triple double of the season. He leads the league in assists per game with 11.8, leading another triple double machine, Russell Westbrook, in that category. Harden is also third in scoring with 28.2 points per game. Montrezl Harrell contributed 28 points to the victory. DeMar DeRozan scored 36 for Toronto. Both Harden and DeRozan were 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

The Rockets trailed in this one 99-95 going into the fourth quarter, but put a 15-0 run on the Raptors and held on to win it. The Rockets (30-9) are second in the Southwest Division but haven’t been able to make up much ground on front running San Antonio. The Spurs have been nearly as hot as their rivals down I-10, winning eight of their last 10. Toronto’s lead over second place Boston in the Atlantic is down to one game with this loss. The Raptors host the Celtics on January 10th.