Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets: 112-117
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Loading...The Cleveland Cavaliers went into halftime seemingly on the precipice of steamrolling the Rockets in Houston. James Harden had other ideas.
Harden posted a 38-point triple-double as one of six Rockets in double figures, as Houston came from behind for a 117-112 win over Cleveland on Sunday.
The Cavaliers led by 14 points at one point in the third, but Houston closed the quarter on a 21-5 run that turned the tide. Harden scored 11 points in the quarter, and Ryan Anderson added eight, while Cleveland's red-hot shooting went cold.
Harden finished with 38 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. It's his first triple-double since Feb. 15 and his 16th of the season, putting him second behind Russell Westbrook for the NBA lead. Anderson finished with 16 points and six rebounds, knocking down four three-pointers.
Houston finished the game with 16 threes, as both teams pushed the boundaries from beyond the arc. The Cavs and Rockets combined to shoot 88, as both continued their record-setting pace.
Cleveland shot 52.5 percent from the floor and knocked down 17 three-pointers, blitzing a porous Rockets defense with crisp passing. The Cavs posted 24 team assists, led by eight from Kyrie Irving, who also added 28 points and a surprising two blocks.
LeBron James added 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The two Cavaliers All-Stars combined to take more than half of Cleveland's field-goal attempts, with James continuing his recent trend of efficient play. James has hit at least half of his shots in 15 of his last 17 games and has hit multiple threes in all but one game during the month of March.
Despite shooting a worse percentage and knocking down fewer threes, the Rockets stayed in the game by dominating the offensive boards. Houston out-rebounded Cleveland, 20-4, on the offensive end to the tune of 15 second-chance points. No Cavalier grabbed more than eight boards, and Tristan Thompson was the only player to bring down an offensive rebound.
The Rockets will have two days off before they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Cleveland, which has lost four of its last five games, will host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
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