NBA scoring leader James Harden poured in 44 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 110-100 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Harden was 10-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers, and made 21 of his 22 free throw attempts to fill the stat sheet again four days after scoring a career-high 50 points against Denver last Thursday.
Josh Smith added 18 points off the bench and Donatas Motiejunas scored 17 in the win.
The Rockets, chasing Memphis for first place in the competitive Southwest Division, bounced back from a 117-102 loss to Phoenix on Saturday to get their fourth win in five games.
They shot 13-of-24 from 3-point range, including 3-of-6 in the fourth quarter to stay in front.
C.J. Watson had 23 points off the bench to lead Indiana and George Hill scored 20, but the Pacers lost for the sixth game in a row, including four straight at home. Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 10 rebounds and David West scored 10.
[SportsNetwork.com]
