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Harden helps Houston hold off Golden State

Dec 14, 2013 - 7:32 AM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden had 26 points and nine assists as the Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 116-112 on Friday night.

Dwight Howard sank all seven of his foul shots and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, which has won three of its last four games. Chandler Parsons netted 23 points in the triumph.

"If we're going to chase our goals and the dreams that we have for our season, we have to win games like tonight," Rockets interim head coach Kelvin Sampson said.

Sampson filled in for head coach Kevin McHale for a second straight game following the death of McHale's mother.

David Lee tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds and Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors, who have alternated wins and losses over their last six tilts.

The game was tied 98-98 with 3:18 left before a 9-2 Houston flurry helped the Rockets seize control. Howard had a three-point play and Patrick Beverley tallied back-to-back buckets to cap the swing, which gave the Rockets a 107-100 lead with 53.9 ticks remaining.

Golden State never got closer than four the rest of the way.

"Too many careless untimely turnovers when it mattered most," Golden State head coach Mark Jackson said.

Earlier, the Rockets led 30-29 after a quarter of play and Harden recorded the final eight points during a 10-0 burst during the early stages of the second to stake Houston a 41-31 cushion.

The Rockets took a 58-51 spread into the break and an 82-73 advantage into the fourth.

Golden State netted the first eight points of the final frame to pull within 82-81 with 9:46 to go.

Game Notes

Beverley finished with 16 points ... Houston was 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from beyond the arc ... Klay Thompson had 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor for Golden State.