NBA: James Harden was again the star for Houston Rockets at Phoenix
Last Updated: 11/02/15 8:10am
James Harden scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter as his Houston Rockets pulled away to beat the Phoenix Suns 127-118.
Josh Smith added 20 for the Rockets, who trailed 89-88 at the end of the third quarter after Phoenix rallied from an early 18-point deficit.
Eric Bledsoe scored 32, one shy of his career high, for the Suns, who enter the All-Star break on a run of five defeats in their last six games.
Harden ended the first and second quarters with a three-pointer, then opened the fourth with a four-point play that put the Rockets ahead for good.
He scored eight in a row during a two minute period late in the fourth and after, scoring 45 in a defeat to Portland on Sunday, has accumulated six games of 40 individual points or more.
In Memphis, Zach Randolph netted 19 points and Marc Gasol added 14 and 11 rebounds as hosts the Grizzlies beat the Brooklyn Nets 95-86.
Six Grizzlies finished in double figures as Memphis won their 14th match in 16. Courtney Lee shot 15 points, Beno Udrih scored 13 and Tony Allen finished with 12.
The Nets lost for the seventh time in their last 10 as Mason Plumlee and Alan Anderson each had 15 points for the visitors and Plumlee also grabbed 14 rebounds.
Elsewhere, Chicago Bulls saw off Sacramento Kings 104-86 at home, Detroit Pistons handed Charlotte Hornets 106-78 a third straight reverse and Denver Nuggets halted a run of six defeats with a 106-96 victory at LA Lakers.
Pau Gasol continued his solid season with 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls, Tony Snell had a career-high 24 and Derrick Rose added 23, while DeMarcus Cousins grabbed 15 points and eight rebounds for the Kings.
Greg Monroe had 23 points and 12 rebounds and DJ Augustin added 18 points for the impressive Pistons in their win over the Hornets while Ty Lawson had a season-highs of 32 points and 16 assists for Denver, with Carlos Boozer scoring 15 of his 21 points in the second half and grabbing 10 rebounds for the losing Lakers.
