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Rockets, Mavs meet in Southwest clash

Apr 2, 2015 - 1:37 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets remain in a dog fight for the Southwest Division crown and they'll face a stiff divisional test on Thursday when they visit American Airlines Center to meet the Dallas Mavericks.

The Rockets are tied for the division lead with the Memphis Grizzlies with just seven games remaining on the docket. Also at stake is the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

That could set up a first-round playoff matchup with the Mavericks. Dallas hasn't clinched a postseason berth yet, but is four ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are in eighth.

James Harden continued his MVP run on Wednesday in a 115-111 home win over the Sacramento Kings. Harden netted a career-high 51 as Houston held on for the victory.

Harden became the first Rockets player in history to have two 50-point games in one season. He went for 50 against the Denver Nuggets less than two weeks ago.

The MVP candidate made eight of his nine 3-pointers, tying a career high, went 11-of-13 from the foul line and 16-of-25 from the field overall to lift Houston to its 51st victory of the season.

"Shooting 8-of-9 from 3 is hard to do," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "It's hard to do when you're by yourself, much less in a game when everything is contested."

Trevor Ariza scored 22 points and Terrence Jones added 16 points and seven boards in the triumph.

The Rockets begin a challenging road trip Thursday with stops against the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs on the horizon.

The Mavericks ended a two-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 135-131 road win over the Thunder.

Monta Ellis registered 26 points to lead Dallas in an exciting, entertaining affair. Chandler Parsons netted 22 points with six assists and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 18 points for the Mavs.

"We all knew how important this game was," Parsons said. "We needed this win in a bad way."

Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo added 10 points and 10 assists in the win.

Parsons converted a three-point play before making a layup that helped the Mavs to a 130-129 lead with 90 seconds left. It remained a one-point game when Parsons hit a tough turnaround jumper with 13 seconds left, then Russell Westbrook got two looks at a 3-pointer after he hustled down his own rebound from the first miss, but his second attempt was off the mark.

Ellis sealed the victory with a free throws in the final seconds.

Dallas finished 56-of-91 (61.5 percent) from the floor and dominated the paint, outscoring the Thunder, 72-46.

The Mavericks welcome the conference-leading Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns on this stay.

The Rockets won the first two meetings this season, both in Houston before Dallas prevailed by 11 at home on Feb. 20. The Mavs have won eight of the last nine encounters as the host.