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Houston led by as many as 26 points in its
wire-to-wire victory, extending its winning streak to nine
games. The Rockets converted 14 of 28 3-point attempts in the
first half to build their advantage, sweep the season series
from Atlanta, and extend their home-court winning streak to 16
games.
Harden struggled with his shot, making 6 of 15 attempts while
missing 6 of 7 3-point tries. However, he tallied 18 points, 10
rebounds and 15 assists to help steer the Rockets, who were
without Chris Paul (hamstring) for a third consecutive game.
Paul could return on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.
Taurean Prince and Isaiah Taylor combined to shoot 21 of 35
while scoring 28 and 26 points respectively for the Hawks, who
were without Dennis Schroder. Atlanta has dropped 9 of 10.
Gerald Green scored 25 points off the Houston bench, drilling 5
of 10 3-point attempts. Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and P.J.
Tucker sank four treys apiece, with Gordon posting 22 points,
Ariza 14, all in the first period, and Tucker 12. Houston went
20 of 52 from behind the arc overall. Atlanta, meanwhile, shot
11 of 40 from 3-point range.
Harden shot 1 of 6 prior to the intermission but recorded a
dozen assists over 18 minutes. He picked apart the Hawks'
pick-and-roll defense, drawing two defenders before finding
teammates wide open from behind the arc. Ariza was the early
beneficiary, drilling 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the opening
period as the Rockets raced to a 33-20 advantage entering the
second quarter.
When Green and Tucker combined for three 3-pointers to open the
second period, the Rockets extended to a 21-point lead. Houston
hit a stretch where all six of its field goals during a two-plus
minute stretch came from deep, with Clint Capela snapping that
run with a ferocious dunk off a nifty pick-and-roll pass from
Harden.
Tucker added two more 3-pointers around a second-chance basket
from Capela, and the Rockets led 65-39 with 2:08 left in the
first half.
--Field Level Media
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