Rockets 105, Cavaliers 93: James Harden collected 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as visiting Houston took control in the fourth quarter and rolled past Cleveland.

Dwight Howard added 17 points and 19 rebounds and Josh Smith scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench for the Rockets. Corey Brewer scored 12 points and Donatas Motiejunas contributed 10 for Houston.

Kyrie Irving returned from a one-game absence and scored a season-high 38 points as the Cavaliers dropped their third straight game. Kevin Love recorded 15 of his 17 points in the second half and added 16 rebounds while J.R. Smith, who was acquired in a trade from the New York Knicks, made his Cleveland debut and went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes.

Tristan Thompson’s three-point play knotted it at 77 with 10 minutes left before Howard scored five points and Brewer buried a pair of 3-pointers as part of an 11-2 run to put the Rockets on top 88-79 with 6:07 left. Harden’s 3-pointer with 2:18 to play spread it out to 98-86 as Houston put it away.

Irving’s 3-pointer capped a 23-point first half and chopped the Rockets’ lead to 49-48 at the half. The Cavaliers built a 69-64 lead on Irving’s jumper with 3:02 left in the third quarter but the Rockets bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 13-5 run to grab a three-point edge.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cleveland F LeBron James (knee, back) missed his sixth straight game but told reporters he would return in a week. … The Cavaliers agreed to a trade with the Denver Nuggets, sending away two first-round draft picks in exchange for C Timofey Mozgov. … Smith has scored in double figures in four games off the bench with the Rockets while failing to reach double figures in four as a starter.