Rockets 102, Hornets 83: James Harden made a career-best eight 3-pointers and had 36 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Houston recorded its eighth straight victory over visiting Charlotte.

Patrick Beverley scored 14 points and Donatas Motiejunas added 12 as the Rockets halted a two-game slide. Dwight Howard contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and Trevor Ariza scored 10 points for Houston, which was 17-of-43 from 3-point range.

Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 16 points apiece for the Hornets, who were without standout center Al Jefferson (groin). Kemba Walker added 12 points and Gary Neal scored 10.

Houston led by eight points entering the final stanza and increased the advantage to 13 on a 3-pointer by Josh Smith with 6:39 to play. Harden exploded for eight straight points – including two 3-pointers – as the Rockets stretched the lead to 20 with 2:30 to go before finishing off the victory.

Charlotte used a 9-0 run to lead by six with under four minutes to play in the first half before Houston closed strong to take a 47-45 lead into the break. Beverley hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first half and then scored eight straight points over the first 65 seconds of the third quarter to give Houston a 10-point advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The recently acquired Smith scored five points and has just 13 on 5-of-20 shooting over the last three games. … Hornets G Lance Stephenson (pelvic sprain) missed his eighth straight game. … Harden has scored 30 or more points on 14 occasions this season.