After Austin Rivers scored just six points in the first half against the Houston Rockets in the NBA, his Los Angeles Clippers teammates had a message for him.
"Austin, you've got to be more aggressive," Rivers recalled them saying.
He certainly took their advice on Friday night, scoring 30 of his career-high 36 points after half-time to allow the Clippers to withstand James Harden's second straight 51-point performance in a 128-118 victory.
"If we were going to win I had to start being in attack mode," Rivers said.
"And right from the get-go my whole attention was to just be aggressive and take the fight to them."
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The Rockets, who had a 14-game winning streak snapped by the Lakers on Wednesday, have lost consecutive games for just the second time this season.
Rivers made a three-pointer with just less than three minutes to play that pushed the lead to 117-111.
Ryan Anderson made two free throws for Houston before CJ Williams added a lay-up for the Clippers.
Former Rocket Lou Williams, who had 32 points off the bench, then scored his fourth three-pointer of the quarter to make it 122-113 before a turnover by Harden spurred coach Mike D'Antoni to call a time-out.
Rivers made another three-pointer after the time-out and Harden made a lay-up before fouling out a few seconds later.
The Clippers have improved to 13-18 but sit 10th in the western conference while Houston's win-loss record is 25-6.
In Friday's other games, the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a late deficit at home to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-104.
In Detroit, Andre Drummond had 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Pistons overcame the New York Knicks 104-101.
Russell Westbrook made a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to cap a 30-point, 15-assist outing as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Atlanta Hawks 120-117.
In Orlando, the New Orleans Pelicans never trailed against the Magic in their 111-97 win.
Wayne Ellington tied a career high with 28 points as the injury-ravaged Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-101.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 119-84 cakewalk against the Washington Wizards.
Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and the Denver Nuggets won for the first time in Portland since 2013, beating the Trail Blazers 102-85.
Kevin Durant had 33 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, and the Golden State Warriors held off the Los Angeles Lakers 113-106 for their 11th straight victory.
