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Recap: Rockets at Lakers - 01/25/2015

James Harden dropped 37 in Los Angeles to lead the Rockets past the Lakers 99-87. Harden increased his league-leading total of games with 30+ points to 21.

Harden did most of his damage in the first quarter, scoring 13 in the first 12 minutes as the Rockets doubled the Lakers score with a 30-15 lead. Harden wasn’t just scoring, though. The Rockets assisted on seven of their 12 field goals in the first, highlighted by Harden spinning through the lane to draw the Lakers’ defenders before slinging it to Josh Smith for a corner three.

“It’s my job, not only to be a scorer but a facilitator, to make sure everybody’s happy and getting open shots,” Harden said.

The Rockets kept their foot on the gas and led 52-36 at halftime after shooting nearly 50% from the floor and forcing 12 Lakers turnovers. The lead ballooned to 25 in the third and Harden took a well-deserved seat to start the fourth.

However, Harden checked back in with five minutes left after the Lakers went on a 14-2 run that cut the Rockets’ lead to just 11. Corey Brewer hit a corner three to stop the L.A. run and the offense got going again to close out the win.

“I thought our offense moved pretty well. I thought the first half we ran a lot more, our focus kind of waned later on in the game,” Kevin McHale said.

Josh Smith and Jason Terry were big off the bench with 11 points each. Brewer added 10 and Beverley and Ariza each chipped in nine for a well-balanced supporting effort.

Dwight Howard sat out after spraining his right ankle in the last game at Phoenix. Joey Dorsey started in his place and finished with seven rebounds and four points. Clint Capela - called up from NBA D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley earlier in the day - got some minutes as the backup center, but the rookie was still unable to score his first NBA points.

The Rockets return home Wednesday to host the Mavericks.