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Harden, Rockets beat Jazz in NBA

James Harden has led the Houston Rockets to a 111-102 NBA win over the Utah Jazz.

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13)
James Harden has led the Houston Rockets to a 111-102 NBA win over the Utah Jazz. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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With the Utah Jazz attempting a late comeback, James Harden casually tossed an alley-oop to Clint Capela from just inside the halfcourt line for a thunderous dunk.

Harden had 31 points and 10 assists, and Capela scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-102 victory over the Jazz on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).

"I knew where he was going to be," Harden said of the pass.

"That's the kind of chemistry we're trying to build, to knowing where guys are going to be at so everything works easy and it's fluent."

In another match highlight, Harden shook Australian defender Dante Exum and buried a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining to give Houston an 11-point lead and put away the game for good.

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Harden was supported by Eric Gordon who added 20 points while fellow reserve Nene added a season-high 16 as the Rockets won for the third time in their past four games and improved to 4-1 at home.

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said 22-year-old Capela is growing more comfortable and confident on the floor every game.

"He had a monster game, and I don't think he did anything that he can't keep repeating," D'Antoni said.

"As long as he runs the floor and screens and rolls, we have guys that will find him."

The injury-plagued Jazz dropped their third straight game following a 6-2 start to November. Besides Gordon Hayward, the four other Jazz starters had a combined seven years of NBA experience.

Rodney Hood led Utah with 25 points and Trey Lyles had 21 while Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

Exum finished with 10 points for the Jazz while compatriot and teammate Joe Ingles had eight points and two assists.


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