Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) goes to the hoop against Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) and guard Evan Turner (11) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 11, 2016, in Boston. Harden scored 32 points to lead the Rockets to a 102-98 victory over the Celtics. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
James Harden scored 32 points and Dwight Howard added 12 points and 12 rebounds to spark the Houston Rockets past Boston 102-98 Friday, snapping the Celtics’ 14-game NBA home win streak.
Five days after halting Toronto’s 12-game home win streak, the Rockets ended the longest Boston home victory run since a franchise-record 18-game streak in 1990-91.
At 33-32, the Rockets are level with Dallas for the last two Western Conference playoff spots while the Celtics stumbled to 39-27, third in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s getting there,” said Harden, who is averaging 34.5 points a game over Houston’s past 13 starts. “We have one more game to finish the road trip off the right way.”
The Rockets visit Charlotte on Saturday, trying to snap the team’s longest win streak in six seasons, which rose to six games with a 118-103 Hornets home win over Detroit.
Boston had not lost at home since January 6.
“We didn’t really know what it felt like,” Celtics star Isaiah Thomas said. “It was tough getting that feeling again especially at home. I feel like we let our fans down.”
The Hornets improved to 36-28 and stayed fifth overall in the Eastern Conference. Marvin Williams scored 22 points and Frenchman Nicolas Batum added 17 points and 11 assists for Charlotte.
“It feels good, but in this league it’s all about tomorrow,” said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. “We’ve got to watch the film and figure out what we’ve got to do better. That’s how we all have to think. I just told them, two or three teams at this time of year are going to get better. It happens every year. Two or three teams are going to get better and win a playoff series or two.”