Houston Rockets' James Harden pushes against Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron JamesPat Sullivan/The Associated Press
James Harden has been putting up MVP-caliber numbers all season for the Houston Rockets.
Given the chance to go head to head with one of his biggest competitors for the award, Harden and the Rockets came out on top.
Harden scored 33 points and Cleveland star LeBron James missed a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left in overtime, helping the Rockets hold on for a 105-103 win over the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Harden dismissed any talk that the performance was some sort of statement about the league's MVP award.
"Every game is a statement for me," said Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring. "I'm just out here trying to prove myself – trying to win games."
It's worked well so far. Harden has led the Rockets to five straight wins, a 41-18 record and the third seed in the Western Conference with fellow star Dwight Howard out with a knee problem.
James hit a 3-pointer with 43.5 seconds left to get Cleveland within one. Harden and James got tangled up on Houston's next possession, but no foul was called and the shot clock expired.
James drove into the lane and was fouled by Josh Smith, but he missed both free throws to finish 3 for 11 at the line.
"There is no excuse. I missed free throws," James said. "I missed the two biggest ones of the game to put us up with seconds on the clock and I didn't come through. I failed my teammates."
Harden, who had his 26th 30-point game this season, added a free throw and Cleveland missed a 3 at the buzzer.
James finished with 37 points after resting during Friday night's 93-86 loss at Indiana. He returned for a chippy contest that had multiple technicals and a flagrant foul by Harden on James.
"It was old-school basketball," James said. "When you have two teams with the same aspirations and trying to get better every day, it can get like that."
A long jumper by J.R. Smith put Cleveland in front in overtime, but Houston scored the next five points. Patrick Beverley made a go-ahead 3 and Smith hit two foul shots to make it 104-100 with 2:21 remaining.
The Cavaliers had a chance for the win in regulation but James held the ball until right before the buzzer and his jump shot bounced off the rim.
Kevin Love had 21 points for the Cavaliers, who played their second game without point guard Kyrie Irving, who has a left shoulder strain.
The loss ended Cleveland's 10-game winning streak against the Western Conference and prevented the Cavs from moving into first in the Central Division. Cleveland has won 18 of 22 but has dropped two straight.
James and Beverley got into a brief skirmish in the second half after Beverley fouled James on a shot. With both players on the ground, James pushed Beverley down as he tried to get up and Beverley pushed him back. The players were separated and both were given technical fouls.
Harden got a flagrant foul when he kicked in the direction of James' crotch as he fell as James tried to grab the ball from him late in the third. James was pulled away from Harden as he screamed at him, and Brewer and Cleveland's Tristan Thompson both received technical fouls from the ensuing argument.
"That's not a basketball play and the league will probably take a look at it," James said. "I have no idea why he would do that."
Harden said it was just a reaction.
WARRIORS 106, CELTICS 101
BOSTON – Stephen Curry scored 37 points, making four straight free throws to clinch it in the final seconds and Golden State erased a 26-point deficit to beat Boston.
Golden State won for the seventh time in nine tries and snapped Boston's three-game winning streak. Klay Thompson scored 20 for the Warriors, Harrison Barnes had 17 and Draymond Green scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points off the bench for Boston. Jae Crowder had a career-high 17 rebounds to go with his nine points, but his 3-pointer with a chance to give Boston the lead with under a minute left rolled around the rim and out.
CLIPPERS 96, BULLS 86
CHICAGO – DeAndre Jordan had 26 rebounds and Chris Paul scored 28 points to lead Los Angeles past Chicago.
Los Angeles was behind 76-75 when Jamal Crawford made a 3-pointer with 8:02 left. The Clippers never trailed the rest of the way. After a scoreless first half, Crawford had 16 points in the final two quarters.
The Clippers extended their winning streak to five in a row in Chicago, the longest in franchise history. They haven't lost there since Dec. 17, 2008.
Bulls rookie reserve Nikola Mirotic scored a career-high 29 points. He accounted for all but one of his team's 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Chicago All-Star Jimmy Butler sprained his left elbow when he ran into Jordan's pick early in the third period and sat out the rest of the game.
THUNDER 108, LAKERS 101
LOS ANGELES – Serge Ibaka had 18 points and 14 rebounds, D.J. Augustin added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Oklahoma City beat the Lakers without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Enes Kanter had 16 points and 15 rebounds as the Thunder's supporting cast snapped a two-game skid with no help from its superstar duo. Durant is out with a foot injury, and Westbrook underwent surgery on his right cheek Saturday in his native Los Angeles.
Yet the Thunder's role players, backups and newcomers never trailed against the 14th-place Lakers, whose three-game winning streak ended meekly.
Jeremy Lin had 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Los Angeles, which got at least eight points from eight players, but couldn't win its season-high fourth straight.
TRAIL BLAZERS 110, KINGS 99
SACRAMENTO – Damian Lillard scored nine of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Portland beat Sacramento for its third straight victory.
Wes Matthews scored 17 points and Robin Lopez had 15 points and eight rebounds for Portland, which is 14-13 on the road.
Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Derrick Williams had 13 of his 18 in the fourth quarter for the Kings. Andre Miller had 12 points and 10 assists.
HORNETS 98, MAGIC 83
ORLANDO, Fla. – Mo Williams had 23 points and 11 assists, and Charlotte beat Orlando.
Cody Zeller, Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson had 16 points apiece for the Hornets, who had dropped six of seven.
It was the fifth straight double-digit scoring game for Williams and his second time with double-digit assists since being dealt to Charlotte at the trade deadline.
Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 21 points. Orlando has lost three straight since a season-high, three-game win streak.
PACERS 94, 76ERS 74
INDIANAPOLIS – Roy Hibbert had 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to help Indiana move three percentage points ahead of Brooklyn and Charlotte in the crowded race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Indiana has won eight of 10, while the 76ers have lost six of seven.
George Hill scored 17 points and Luis Scola added 15 off the bench for the Pacers. Hibbert had his 14th double-double of the season.
Robert Covington led the Sixers with 12 points despite leaving in the third quarter due to an injury. Ish Smith added 11 off the bench.
PELICANS 99, NUGGETS 92
DENVER – Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, Dante Cunningham drew a key charge late in the fourth quarter and New Orleans extended its winning streak to five games by holding off struggling Denver.
Eric Gordon added 18 points and Omer Asik grabbed 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without All-Star forward Anthony Davis for a fourth straight game after he re-injured his right shoulder on Feb. 21. The Pelicans are 4-0 in Davis' absence to remain in the playoff conversation.
Denver dropped its 10th straight at the Pepsi Center, its longest home skid since losing 11 in a row during the 1997-98 season.
Danilo Gallinari had 21 points for Denver, including a half-court shot to end the third quarter that revved up the crowd. The Nuggets fell to 0-6 since the All-Star break.