Harden, Howard lead Rockets to 107-91 win over Grizzlies

Shooting guard James Harden scored 25 points and Dwight Howard dominated the boards to lead the Houston Rockets to a 10791 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Harden not only led his team in scoring but also hauled down five rebounds and dished out five assists, while Howard scored 17 points and snagged 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, to win his individual battle with Grizzlies center Marc Gasol.

Howard also had a rare perfect night from the freethrow line, making all five of his foul shots on Tuesday night at the FedExForum in Memphis.

While Harden and Howard lived up to expectations as AllStar players, the Rockets also were given a surprising boost by reserve forward Terrence Jones, whose 10 fourthquarter points enabled Houston to stretch a threepoint lead into a comfortable 16point margin of victory.

Jones finished the game with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

Reserve guard Marcus Thornton also played valuable minutes for the Rockets, making three of his five 3point shots as part of a 16point night that helped the visitors win their fourth straight contest and improve their record to 2019.

The Rockets’ 3point shooting was the difference, as they made 18 shots from long range compared to just seven by the Grizzlies, allowing them to comfortably win a game in which Memphis outshot them overall from the field 46 percent to 43 percent.

Gasol scored 20 points but grabbed just five rebounds, nine fewer than Howard, as the Grizzlies (2119) stumbled to their fifth loss in their last 10 games.

The Spanish big man, who led a list of six Memphis players in double figures, made eight of his 15 shots from the field and four of his five freethrow attempts.

Tony Allen was the Grizzlies’ secondleading scorer with 17 points, while shooting guard Courtney Lee ended the night with 16.

Reserve power forward Zach Randolph and veteran guard Vince Carter scored 10 points each.