SACRAMENTO, Calif. – James Harden scored a season-high 43 points before resting for all of the fourth quarter, and the Houston Rockets routed the Sacramento Kings 129-103 on Tuesday night.
Harden helped Houston go ahead by 25 points in the first quarter, 31 in the second and 33 in the third. He shot 11 of 20 from the floor, made 15 of 16 free throws and added eight assists, three steals and two rebounds.
Dwight Howard left briefly after banging his right knee but returned to finish with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Chandler Parsons had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who have won 10 of their last 11 games.
DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and six rebounds for the Kings before getting ejected for vehemently arguing with an official in the third quarter. He picked up his NBA-leading 14th and 15th technical fouls.
Rudy Gay had 25 points and six assists, and Ben McLemore scored 15 points for a Sacramento team that looked nothing like the one that beat the Rockets twice previously this season. The teams split four games.
The Rockets outshot Sacramento 56.9 percent to 40 percent. It was the most points the Kings had allowed all season, surpassing a 125-117 loss at Denver on Jan. 26.
Sacramento was trying to win three consecutive games for only the second time all season. Instead, Harden and the Rockets turned the game into a layup line.
Harden had 22 points and four assists in the first quarter to help Houston go ahead 42-17. The only downer during the run came when Howard and Cousins banged knees. Howard limped to the locker room and returned with black leggings underneath his shorts midway through the second quarter.
Even while Howard and Harden sat out, the Kings never halted Houston’s quick-strike offense.
Jeremy Lin’s uncontested layup gave the Rockets a 50-19 lead with 9:49 remaining before the half. Kings coach Michael Malone called timeout, and fans showered the home team with boos.
Sacramento sliced Houston’s lead to 69-51 at the half before Cousins completely lost his composure when the Rockets roared back in the third quarter.
Officials called Cousins for a technical foul after he was whistled for a foul against Howard and shouted back. Cousins picked up his fifth personal foul moments later, then got called for another technical foul — earning an automatic ejection — after screaming in the face of official Courtney Kirkland during a timeout.
Cousins had to be restrained by coaches and teammates. He flicked his headband into the stands on his way to the locker room.
If Cousins gets another technical foul this season, he will be suspended by the NBA for one game. The last two seasons Cousins has needed to have a technical foul rescinded by the league to avoid the automatic suspension that comes when a player reaches 16 technicals.
NOTES: Houston hasn’t lost a non-overtime game since Jan. 25 at Memphis. … Kings G Jimmer Fredette was not at the game. The Kings and Fredette are working to complete a buyout of his contract. …. The Rockets have won all 17 games in 2014 when scoring at least 100 points. The last such loss came against Sacramento on Dec. 31, when the Kings beat the Rockets 110-106 in Houston.
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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP
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