I think DeMarcus is playing in the next game. "We have to weather the storm until Ben and Rudy get back. "There are times when teams are going to have to rest people and that gives other guys an opportunity to step up," Sacramento's Matt Barnes said. Sacramento was led by Garrett Temple's 20 points. The Kings played without three starters, with Rudy Gay (hip flexor strain) and Ben McLemore (left quadriceps contusion) out with injuries and DeMarcus Cousins getting a planned day of rest. Harden grabbed his 10th rebound soon after that and got one more late in the third before heading to the bench to end his night. Trevor Ariza scored the first five points in that span and capped it with a 3-pointer. The Rockets began to pour it on after that, outscoring the Kings 18-5 over the next three minutes to make it 94-58.
Houston led by 15 points in the third quarter before using a 10-4 run to push it to 76-53 with about seven minutes left in the period. Harden's triple-double came in 29 minutes and 52 seconds of play. "James does what he does every night and there's just a lot of good stuff going on." "The biggest thing I'm happy with is we had 40 assists on 50 buckets, so they're sharing the ball," coach Mike D'Antoni said. Houston's winning streak is the longest current one in the NBA and the team's longest since 2014. It's a credit to my teammates and coaches who helped me." "Yes, obviously Hakeem is an all-time Rockets great, best to ever don a Rockets uniform and one of the best to ever play, period," Harden said. It was Harden's fifth triple-double this season and the 14th of his career, which ties him with Hakeem Olajuwon for most in franchise history.Īfter the game, Harden acknowledged how special it is to be mentioned in the same breath as the man known as "The Dream". Harden had a triple-double - 15 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds - in just three quarters to lead the Rockets to their eighth straight win, 132-98 over the shorthanded Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. James Harden's latest game left him tied in Houston's record books with perhaps the greatest Rocket of all. Harden equals Olajuwon's mark for triple-doubles Houston Rockets' James Harden is fouled by Sacramento Kings' Kosta Koufos in the second half of Wednesday's game in Houston.