James Harden scored a game-high 33 points as the Houston Rockets held off the Milwaukee Bucks 117-111 on Friday.
Trevor Ariza finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three steals, Josh Smith supplied 14 points and 10 boards and Donatas Motiejunas netted 14 on 6- of-8 shooting for the Rockets, who have won six of their last seven games.
Houston also improved to 5-1 since star center Dwight Howard suffered a right knee injury against the Suns on Jan. 23. He is expected to miss at least four weeks due to a knee injury.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a career night as he set new highs with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Jerryd Bayless and Jorge Guiterrez each totaled 13 points for Milwaukee, which had its five-game winning streak come to an end.
[SportsNetwork.com]
