Rockets 108, Mavericks 101: James Harden scored 24 points and Trevor Ariza added 19 as visiting Houston rallied past Dallas.

Josh Smith collected 15 points and 12 rebounds and fellow reserve Corey Brewer scored 14 for the Rockets, who moved a half-game ahead of Memphis for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Jason Terry contributed 10 points and Dwight Howard returned to the lineup to record eight points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes as Houston won for the sixth time in seven games and the ninth in its last 11.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and Monta Ellis added 19 for the Mavericks, who scored 26 points off 20 Houston turnovers. Amar'e Stoudemire and Chandler Parsons each added 11 points, but Parsons left with a knee injury in the third quarter.

The Mavericks led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before settling for an 83-77 advantage entering the fourth. Terry's 3-pointer with 4:07 to play put the Rockets ahead for good as Harden scored four straight to make it a five-point spread and Houston made eight straight from the foul line down the stretch.

Dallas led by eight early, but Houston surged back to take a 28-25 lead after one quarter. The Mavericks scored the final seven points of the half to take a 55-47 lead into the break after holding the Rockets to 37 percent shooting in the first half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Seventeen of the last 21 meetings have been decided by eight points or fewer, including three of the four contests this season. … Houston (876) broke the franchise record for 3-pointers in a season and moved within 15 of the New York Knicks' NBA record set in 2012-13. … The Rockets made 11 3-pointers, extending their NBA record to 54 games this season with at least 10.