Harden's return helps Houston lock up third seed

HOUSTON - After missing his first game of the season on Sunday because he had the flu, James Harden was thrilled to not only be back on the court on Wednesday but to be feeling like himself again.

Harden scored 31 points as the Houston Rockets, held on to outlast the Denver Nuggets for a 110-104 win that secured the third seed in the Western Conference.

"I can walk and talk now," Harden said.

"I was on bed rest for a couple of days just because I couldn't really talk, couldn't move. I had the shakes. But I'm back now, so I'm good."

Though the Rockets have been in third place in the West for the majority of the season, they were excited to lock up that spot for the postseason.

"It's good," Harden said. "We've got the third-best record in the league right now. So we just want to close out the season the right way and just get some momentum going into the postseason. That's the most important thing."

The Nuggets cut the lead to two points on a layup by Nikola Jokic with 1:20 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Harden a few seconds later pushed the lead to 106-101 and brought the Toyota Center crowd to its feet.

Harden added two free throws after that for the last of 15 straight points he scored in the second half of the fourth quarter.

Along with being over the flu, the time off gave Harden's sore left wrist a chance to get better.

"He was shooting the ball better and he's just more fluid with his wrist," coach Mike D'Antoni said.

The Nuggets got a dunk from Danilo Gallinari next to cut the lead to four, but Eric Gordon added a pair of free throws to secure the win.

The victory improved Houston to 4-0 against the Nuggets this season after the Rockets lost all three games to Denver last season.

Gallinari had 23 points for the Nuggets, who are in ninth place and are fighting for the last playoff spot in the West.

"We still have our chances and we have to keep fighting and playing as we have four games left," Gallinari said. "We have to get them all."

Houston led by six entering the fourth quarter and remained up by that many before the Nuggets scored four quick points to cut the lead to a basket with about nine minutes left. However, the host held on for victory.

Associated Press