James Harden scored 30 points to help the Houston Rockets get the better of the New Orleans Hornets 100-96.
Harden also added 4 assists and 3 rebounds, with Omer Asik contributing 15 points and 12 rebounds.
"It's taken seven games for me to just be the man, and know what to expect and know how to handle every situation," the Associated Press quoted Harden as saying. "There are going to be games where, I don't know.
"There are going to be a lot of experiences that I learn from, so I'm just taking it one game at a time."
For the Hornets the leading scorer was Greivis Vasquez who netted a career-high 24 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.
Ryan Anderson scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Hornets, but rookie Anthony Davis struggled for his eight points.
Harden played well, but one thing he lacked in his performance was shooting from the 3-point arc. He got only one out of seven attempts.
The Hornets fought hard and at the end of the first quarter they were leading by two points. They had scored 27 points against the Rockets' 25. But the Rockets hit six 3-pointers and rebounded nicely in the second quarter and added 39 points against Hornets' 18.
"When you have a quarter like that, it's hard to rebound," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "But I thought the guys on our team showed a lot of guts and character, getting back in the game."
The third quarter again belonged to the Hornets, scoring 31 points to Rockets' 21, with Houston just about holding on in the final quarter to eke out a four-point win.
"We can't keep getting these double-digit leads in the first half and give them away," forward Chandler Parsons said. "We've got to come out there in the third quarter with energy and not allow that."
Marcus Morris and Toney Douglas contributed well with 13 and 12 points respectively. Harden appreciated the bench's help in the victory. "They lifted us up," he said. "Toney and Carlos (Delfino) and Marcus Morris really did a good job, coming in and bringing that energy."
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