Houston Rockets power past Golden State Warriors without James Harden

Eric Gordon led five players in double figures with 25 points as the Houston Rockets shrugged off the absence of James Harden to hand the Golden State Warriors a 118-112 defeat in Oakland on Saturday night.

The win was the Rockets' third in three meetings with the two-time defending champions this season after Golden State won a seven-game showdown last May in the Western Conference Finals.

This win was accomplished without Harden, who has scored 30 or more points in 32 consecutive games, the second-longest run in NBA history.

After having been bothered by a sore neck in Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden was listed as questionable for the game even before waking up Saturday morning with flu-like symptoms.

With Chris Paul (23 points, 17 assists), Kenneth Faried (20 points, 10 rebounds) and P.J. Tucker (18 points, 10 rebounds) all contributing double-doubles, the Rockets ran off to a 20-point lead in the first half.

Clint Capela's basket with 5:42 remaining kept their lead at 110-96, before the Warriors, who lost Draymond Green to a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter, used three-pointers by Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to get within 116-112 with still 30.4 seconds to play.

Golden State had to foul, however, and Tucker iced the win with two free throws with 18.1 seconds left.

Gordon, Paul and Tucker hit four three-pointers apiece for the Rockets, who outscored Golden State 48-42 from beyond the arc en route to snapping a two-game losing streak.

Gerald Green added 10 points for Houston, while Capela had a game-high 15 rebounds to complement eight points.

Durant had 29 points, Curry 25 and Thompson 20 for the Warriors, who lost for just the third time in their last 20 games.

Cousins finished with a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double for Golden State, who had a five-game home winning streak snapped.

The Rockets wasted no time taking charge, scoring the game's first 15 points.

Gordon contributed a pair of 3-pointers and a layup to the crowd-silencing start.

The Warriors went 4:15 without a point, starting the game 0-for-3 on three-pointers, 0-for-2 on two-pointers and 0-for-2 on free throws, mixing in three turnovers along the way.

A Thompson long-ranger finally got the Warriors on the scoreboard, but that didn't derail the Rockets, who went onto lead by as many as 16 in the first quarter and 20 in the second.

Live NBA: Orlando @ Toronto