After producing his 10th triple-double of the season, it was a single-digit number that brought the biggest smile from James Harden.
He had 40 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, but when asked which of those numbers brought him the most satisfaction, the chose the blocks.
“Key plays at the end of the game,” Harden said after the Houston Rockets’ 129-122 comeback victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. “It was a charge. Just try to do the intangible things to help out. Obviously, we know I can hit shots and whatnot, but just trying to do the small things that win games.”
Both blocks were on Toronto star DeMar DeRozan, the second with 2:01 to play. The plays helped the Rockets, who trailed by 13 points in the third quarter, rally to extend their winning streak to eight games.
“They put their heads down, attacked our feet,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “There was a stretch where we played good basketball for 39 minutes, but it is a 48-minute game, and we have to extend that.”
Harden said the key to the Rockets’ success is unselfishness.
“Helping each other out, having each other’s backs,” he said. “Offensively, we’re knocking down shots, we’re playing off the catch, we’re doing the small things to help each other out.”
Harden registered at least a double-double in a 17th consecutive game. He also had two steals Sunday, and he committed 10 turnovers.
“We had 15 turnovers as a team and I had 10 of them, and I’ve got the ball in my hands 90 percent of the time,” he said. “It’s going to happen. I can have 15 turnovers, as long as we have 15 turnovers as a team, it doesn’t matter, who cares.”
The Rockets were 2 of 11 in three-point attempts in the first half and finished at 11 of 38 from beyond the arc.
“Our defense got a lot tougher and we were able to get into the open floor and made some good shots,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Obviously, Trevor (Ariza) got off there and kept us in the game. But we mostly got out in transition, either got fouled or got layups. That came from our defense.”

Grizzlies hold off Jazz
Guard Mike Conley finished with 19 points and nine assists as the Memphis Grizzlies managed to hold off a fourth quarter rally from the Utah Jazz for an 88-79 NBA win Sunday.
Forward Zach Randolph came off the Grizzlies’ bench in front of a crowd of 16,100 at the FedExForum to post a double-double with 13 points and 11
rebounds.
“I was really happy with the effort,” Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said.
“We gave it from start to finish.”
The error-prone Jazz dropped to 23-16 on the season. They are first place in the Northeast Division and the Grizzlies are in third in the Southeast, but the Grizzlies (24-16) are in fifth overall in the Western Conference standings, one spot in front of Utah. The Jazz committed 18 turnovers that Memphis turned into 26 points. Forward Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 22 points, George Hill tallied 15 and forward Trey Lyles chipped in 11 points off the bench. The Jazz rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get within five at 82-77 with 69 seconds to play on a basket by guard Hill. But with 24 seconds left in the game, Jazz center Rudy Gobert fouled Memphis center Marc Gasol from behind the three-point line.
Gasol made all three free throws to boost the lead to 85-77 and Utah never got closer than six points.
Memphis ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run that included back-to-back threes from guard Troy Daniels and veteran Vince Carter in the final four seconds. The Grizzlies led 63-51 going into the final quarter.

RESULTS

Cavaliers 120 Suns 116
Warriors 117 Kings 106
Rockets 129 Raptors 122
Grizzlies 88 Jazz 79
Pistons 125 Trail Blazers 124 (double OT)
Lakers 111 Magic 85
76ers 105 Nets 95
Wizards 107 Bucks 101
Clippers 98 Heat 86