James Harden sends Jamal Murray flying with nasty crossover

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- James Harden hit Jamaal Murray with an out-of-this-world crossover, sending him to the floor during the Houston Rockets' win against the Denver Nuggets.

The Rockets superstar dropped Murray in the second quarter of the 125-113 triumph on Monday at the Toyota Center in Houston. The Rockets led 60-54 with 1:51 remaining in the first half when Harden dribbled up beyond the 3-point arc during a Houston possession. Murray ran up to guard the reigning NBA MVP.

Harden dribbled to his left before tossing the ball behind his back to the right side. Murray got tangled up and went flying to the floor. Harden the calmly picked up his dribble and nailed a deep triple, putting the Rockets up by nine points.

"I was just trying to make a play," Harden told reporters.

"The Beard" scored a game-high 32 points and had 14 assists and five rebounds in the win. Clint Capela chipped in 31 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Murray had 13 points in the loss. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Harden leads the league in averaging 33.7 points per game this season. The Rockets host the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in Houston.