HOUSTON (AP) -- Lou Williams scored 31 points off the bench, James Harden finished with 22 points and 12 assists, and the Houston Rockets never trailed while cruising to a 137-125 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Russell Westbrook had 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double and his 36th this season, but Harden led the Rockets to a 25-point lead through three quarters in the matchup between top MVP candidates.
Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon added 24 points apiece for the Rockets, whose lead was trimmed to eight on a 3-pointer by Westbrook with about 90 seconds left. The Rockets scored four quick points after that to secure the victory.
Harden left late in the game after crashing into the court and appearing to injure his left wrist but said in a TV interview he expected to be OK.
Houston jumped out to a 9-0 lead and was up by at least 20 for most of the game. It was a stark change from the first three games between these teams this season, which were decided by a combined seven points.
Williams made 11 of 15 shots, going 7 of 8 on 3-pointers. He didn't miss a shot until his layup was blocked by Jerami Grant early in the fourth quarter.
Houston won its fourth straight overall and has won nine of their past 12 games against the Thunder.
The Rockets shot 71 percent in the first half, and Harden made a layup before grabbing a rebound and hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend Houston's lead to 113-88 entering the fourth quarter.
The Thunder chipped away with a 12-4 run midway through the fourth quarter to get within 126-114 with 4 minutes left. Williams hit a 3-pointer after that to slow down the Thunder the team's late run.
The Rockets had a 16-point lead in the third quarter before they used a 13-4 run to make it 108-83 with about 90 seconds left in the quarter. Williams had two 3-pointers in that stretch and a highlight came when Houston stripped the ball from Westbrook and Harden dished to Ariza, who finished with another 3. The run wrapped up with an alley-oop dunk from Harden to Clint Capela, but Capela received a technical on the play for hanging on the rim.
Mike D'Antoni received a technical seconds later for arguing that call.
Houston had built a 79-59 lead by halftime thanks in part to nearly perfect 3-point shooting by Trevor Ariza and Williams. Ariza made four of five attempts and had 16 points at the break, and Williams was a perfect 6 for 6 overall, with four 3-pointers to pile up 18 points in the first two quarters.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Victor Oladipo finished with 15 points. ... Steven Adams and Alex Abrines scored 11 points apiece.
Rockets: Houston's 79 points were the most the team has scored in a half this season. ... Sunday was the 12th time this season where the Rockets had 100 points before the fourth quarter. ... Williams had at least 20 points off the bench for the 29th time this season.
ANDERSON'S HEALTH
Houston's Ryan Anderson will miss about two weeks after spraining his right ankle on Friday night against the Pelicans. D'Antoni hopes Anderson will recover in time to play the last couple of regular-season games and be at full strength for the start of the playoffs.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Visit Dallas on Monday.
Rockets: Host Golden State on Tuesday.
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