Paul, Harden fire as Rockets roll to sweet 16th

LOS ANGELES – Agence France-Presse

Chris Paul scored 25 points as the Houston Rockets overpowered Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder to tighten their grip on the Western Conference with a 16th straight victory on March 6.

Paul produced a scintillating display of shooting which included five three-pointers to help the Rockets bring up their 50th win, a 122-112 victory.

Houston now leads the West at 50-13, one game ahead of the Golden State Warriors who defeated the Brooklyn Nets 114-101 on March 6.

The Thunder, meanwhile, remain firmly in the battle for one of the lower-seeded playoff spots, lying seventh at 37-29.

Against the Rockets, the talismanic figure of Westbrook once again led the way for the Thunder with 32 points while Carmelo Anthony finished with 23.

Paul George had 17 points while New Zealand’s Steven Adams chipped in with 16.

MVP hopeful James Harden was happy to take a backseat to Paul, but still managed to come up with 23 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.