INDIANAPOLIS — Forward James Harden scored 44 points, including 21 of 22 from the free-throw line, and the Houston Rockets handed the reeling Indiana Pacers their sixth consecutive loss, 110-100 Monday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
In two victories against the Pacers this season, Harden scored 99 points. He added seven assists to go with his 44-point night.
A Harden 3-pointer with 6:16 remaining gave Houston a 94-82 lead, and the Rockets (47-23) never were threatened again.
Houston made 13 of 24 shots from 3-point range, the ninth time this season an Indiana opponent has made at least 12 treys.
Forward Josh Smith added 18 for Houston, and forward Donatas Motiejunas scored 17.
Reserve guard C.J. Watson led Indiana (30-40) with 23 points, guard George Hill added 20 and center Roy Hibbert finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana used an 18-4 run to trim a 64-48 deficit to 68-66 with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter. The burst included 3-pointers from Solomon Hill and Damjan Rudez. But Houston countered with 3-pointers from Smith and Motiejunas to lead 76-68 through 36 minutes.
A Harden 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Rockets a 53-39 lead through the first 24 minutes during which Harden scored 18.
Houston led 41-20 with 8:24 left in the second quarter after a Smith 3-pointer, but Indiana got back to within 11 before Harden’s key shot pushed the advantage back to 14.
Smith scored 12 first-half points off the bench for Houston, which shot 47.4 percent from the field (18 of 38), including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Indiana was 17 of 43 from the floor in the opening half (17 of 43), including 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Led by Harden’s 9 of 9, Houston was 11 of 12 from the free-throw line during first-half action while the Pacers were 3 of 6.
The Rockets outrebounded Indiana 21-20 in the opening two quarters and scored 12 points as the result of 12 Indiana turnovers.
Watson had 11 in the half for the Pacers, and Hill scored 10.
NOTES: The Rockets played without F Terrence Jones (pneumothorax) and F Kostas Papanikolaou (sprained right ankle). … The Pacers played without G Rodney Stuckey (sore left calf). … Pacers G/F Paul George, coming back from a broken leg, said he still plans to play this season, but he has not designated a game for that return. After facing Houston, Indiana has 12 games remaining. … Houston began the night 2 1/2 games behind Memphis in the Southwest Division. … The Rockets were 20-13 on the road. … Indiana entered half a game behind Charlotte for the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. … Before playing Houston, Indiana had lost three consecutive home games. … Houston’s James Harden ranks second in NBA scoring at 26.9 points a game. He scored 45 in a 110-98 victory against the Pacers on Jan. 19 in Houston. … The Rockets lead the league in opponent 3-point percentage, at 31.6 … Indiana ranks third in scoring defense, at 96.8 points per game.