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 "That," McHale said, "was pretty amazing."
Harden left his coach more than impressed Thursday by scoring 12 of
his 44 points in overtime, including the first nine, and Houston
escaped with a 113-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep
Train Arena.
The NBA's leading scorer, Harden finished with 33 points after
halftime, collected his ninth 30-point effort of the season and fell
two points shy of his career high.
"We wanted to attack," McHale said of his team's 18-point overtime.
"James played downhill and got to the hoop. He made big shots at the
end of regulation and then in overtime. He just took over."
Harden lifted his scoring average to 26.4 points per contest and
singlehandedly turned the game in Houston's favor in the extra
session. He made four of his five shots in the extra session,
including his only 3-point try, and he knocked down two free throws
with 7.1 seconds left to put the contest out of reach.
He shot 14-for-32 overall, made three of the Rockets' 15 3-pointers,
contributed eight assists and played nearly 48 minutes. Houston
(17-5) avoided its second two-game losing streak of the season.
 "I knew I had a lot left," Harden said of the overtime. "It was
definitely a tough game. They fought hard, but we had the same
energy."
Forward Trevor Ariza had 15 points, and guard Patrick Beverley had
15 points and 10 rebounds for Houston. Forward Donatas Motiejunas
added 14 points and guard Jason Terry 13 for the Rockets, who fell
behind 18-7 in the first quarter and didn't lead until guard Troy
Daniels' 3-pointer put them ahead 80-78 with 6:46 to go in
regulation.
Guard Darren Collison had 24 points and seven assists, and guard Ben
McLemore scored 21 points for Sacramento (11-12), which fell below
.500 for the first time this season. The Kings lost for the seventh
time in nine games overall and are 2-5 during an 11-game stretch in
which they play 10 at home. They dropped the past two after leading
by double-digits in the second half.
"It was very similar to the game we just came off of," Kings coach
Michael Malone said, referring to his team's 98-95 loss at the Los
Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. "You're up and you control the game, then
there's your execution or lack thereof and your inability to value
the basketball."
Sacramento again played without center DeMarcus Cousins, who sat out
his seventh straight game due to viral meningitis. Without him, the
Kings turned over the ball 22 times, including seven times combined
in the fourth quarter and overtime. Collison finished with six
turnovers.
"It's a bump in the road for us," Collison said. "It's something
we've got to learn from."
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Rockets center Dwight Howard missed his 11th straight game because
of right knee tendinitis. Without him, the Rockets are 8-3. Howard
told reporters at Thursday's shootaround that expects to play in
Saturday's home against the Denver Nuggets.
Forward Derrick Williams scored 17 points for Sacramento, and his
3-pointer from the wing broke a 90-90 tie with 1:32 left in
regulation. Forward Jason Thompson hit two free throws on the
ensuing position, putting Sacramento ahead 95-90 with 57 seconds
left.
Ariza hit two free throws on Houston's next possession, and Harden
connected from 26 feet on the right wing arc with 20.1 seconds left
to send the game into overtime.
Harden then scored on a driving layup, knocked down another
3-pointer from the wing and made two more layups during a 9-1
Houston run to start overtime.
Sacramento forward Jason Thompson finished with 13 points and 15
rebounds. Kings forward Rudy Gay finished with 13 points but made
just four of 18 shots from the floor.
NOTES: Rockets F James Harden has averaged 35 points per game in his
past five contests against the Kings. He played Thursday after back
spasms plagued him Wednesday during Houston's loss to the Golden
State Warriors. ... Sacramento Kings C DeMarcus Cousins (viral
meningitis) missed his career-high seventh straight game. Cousins
missed six straight contests last January. ... Rockets C Dwight
Howard missed his 11th straight contest, continuing the longest
streak of absences in his 10-year career. Howard, 29, and in his
11th season, started his career with a consecutive games streak of
351. ... Without Cousins in the lineup, Kings F Rudy Gay was
averaging 22.6 points per game and had lifted his scoring average a
half-point to 21.6 points a game. The King played their ninth
straight game without having Gay and Cousins on the court together;
Gay missed two games before Cousins' illness.
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