Houston, TX (Sports Network) - James Harden shook off a flu bug to score 28
points, while the Houston Rockets orchestrated a strong late finish to pull
out a 93-89 win over the Chicago Bulls at the Toyota Center.
Two nights after being limited to six points and 17 1/2 minutes by his
sickness, Harden made good on 8-of-14 field goal attempts and added five
steals while being on the court for over 42 minutes.
His efforts, along with a critical 10-0 run down the stretch, enabled the
Rockets to put an end to a three-game losing skid.
Patrick Patterson chipped in 20 points and Chandler Parsons amassed 18 points
and a career-best 13 rebounds for Houston, while Toney Douglas had 11 points
and sank a clutch long-range jumper that gave Houston an 86-84 lead with
1:11 remaining.
Chicago owned an 84-79 edge after Nate Robinson buried a 3-pointer with 4:42
left to play, but proceeded to miss its next 11 shots. The cold spell led to
the Bulls dropping their fourth consecutive contest, the franchise's longest
slide since a 10-game drought from Feb. 27 - Mar. 19, 2010.
Robinson paced Chicago with 21 points, 13 of which came in the final 10
minutes, with Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer each amassing double-doubles in a
losing cause.
Deng ended with 19 points and 10 boards, while Boozer pulled down 15 rebounds
to go along with 13 points.
GAME NOTES:
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