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Sports

Rockets topple Pacers behind Harden's 45

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden poured in a season-high 45 points to lead the Houston Rockets in a 110-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

Harden scored 33 after halftime and was one point off his career high set back on Feb. 20, 2013 against Oklahoma City.

Dwight Howard totaled 14 points and 17 rebounds, while Corey Brewer chipped in with 13 points off the bench for Houston.

C.J. Miles and Donald Sloan went for 23 and 17 points, respectively, off the Indiana bench.

"We're turning the ball over too much," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel.

The Pacers have dropped five straight games.

Patrick Beverley knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 17-4 run for Houston to begin the game. The Rockets maintained a double-digit lead for most of the half, but C.J. Watson's layup cut the deficit to 29-21 after 12 minutes.

"First of all, the way we came out is the way we should come out every single game," Harden said. "Throughout the entire game, they couldn't gain any ground because we were consistent."

Sloan's four-point play capped a 13-2 spurt for Indiana midway through the second that trimmed the margin to one. However, Jason Terry contributed seven points as Houston ripped off 12 straight to regain control. The Rockets brought a 55-45 lead into the locker room at half.

Harden canned three consecutive 3-pointers that capped a 10-burst and increased the lead to 81-60 with over three minutes left in the third.

Houston led by 21 entering the fourth, then Indiana sliced the deficit to 93-79 thanks to an 11-2 run early in the quarter.

Sloan split a pair of free throws with 2 1/2 to play that made it an eight- point game, but Harden responded at the other end with a step-back jumper from the elbow and added two free throws to essentially seal the outcome.

Game Notes

Indiana has lost nine of its last 11 on the road against the Western Conference ... Ian Mahinmi grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for the Pacers ... Houston shot 51.4 percent from the floor ... Each team scored 44 points in the paint.