James Harden finished with 31 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, and the Houston Rockets overcame some sloppy lulls to defeat the Denver Nuggets 110-104 and officially clinch the third seed in the Western Conference.
Harden’s shot was still a little wonky, as he went just 8-19 from the field, but the Rockets featured a balanced attack that saw five of the eight rotation players finish in double figures. Nene had 16 points, Trevor Ariza finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Clint Capela also double-doubled to finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Eric Gordon had 11 points, despite just shooting 2-14 from the field.