National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Houston 112, Cleveland 104
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 5, 2013
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #60 James Williams, #65 Sean Wright
Attendance: 16866

Rockets 112, Cavaliers 104: James Harden scored 16 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lift visiting Houston to its fourth consecutive victory.

Point guard Jeremy Lin added 20 points and Patrick Patterson came off the bench to score 15 to help the Rockets move a season-high six games over .500.

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points, Alonzo Gee added 18 and Tristan Thompson had 14 and 16 rebounds for Cleveland, which lost for the third time in four games.

Harden also had seven steals en route to scoring at least 25 points for the 12th straight game and running his streak of 20-point performances to 16 in a row. He combined with Lin for more turnovers (four) than points (two) in the first quarter but took over the game in the fourth.

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year scored 10 points in just over three minutes to help the Rockets take a 100-92 lead with 3:58 to play. Irving responded with seven quick points to cut the deficit to 106-103, but Harden buried four free throws to ice it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Rockets backup C Greg Smith had 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. ... Cavs C Anderson Varejao is expected to return to practice Tuesday and play in Wednesday's game against Atlanta. The league's leading rebounder sat out his ninth straight contest Saturday due to a bruised right knee. ... Thompson had his seventh double-double in nine games since Varejao was injured.
Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Cleveland
James Harden 29 Scoring Kyrie Irving 30
Jeremy Lin 5 Assists Kyrie Irving 6
Greg Smith 11 Rebounds Tristan Thompson 16
James Harden 14 Free Throws Made Kyrie Irving 7
James Harden 7 Steals Kyrie Irving 4
Omer Asik 2 Blocks Shaun Livingston 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 112 46.8 12-34 26-36 23 43 4 11 17
Cleveland 104 39.6 7-23 25-28 20 44 3 11 14
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against L.A. Lakers. The Rockets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.