James Harden's 45 points leads Rockets in Game 4 victory

Posted: May 26, 2015 -- 12:35 am.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- In a game which featured just about everything, James Harden scored a game-high 45 points to lead the Rockets to a 128-115 victory in Game 4 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals. With the win, the Rockets avoid a 4-game sweep and head to Oakland for game 5 Wednesday night.

Josh Smith set the tone of the game with his first of 3, three-point baskets in the first quarter which kick-started a 12-0 burst to start the game; and, the Rockets never trailed in the ball game. Smith scored 13 points in the first quarter on 5 for 5 field goal shooting (3 for 3 from three); and, he added three rebounds and three assists for good measure.

Harden scored 10 points in the opening 12 minutes to help the Rockets lead 45-22 at the end of the quarter. The Rockets made 17 of 22 field goal attempts including a scalding 8 of 9 three-pointers.

The 45 points tied an NBA playoff-record for most points scored in the first quarter of an NBA playoff game.

Dwight Howard banked in a hook shot to boost the lead to 25 points before the Warriors scored seven straight points to slice the Rockets' lead to 47-29 with 9:10 on the clock.

After a timeout, the Rockets pushed the lead to 23 points before Klay Thompson began to heat up with 4 straight points. Then, with 5:52 on the clock, Trevor Ariza pump-faked Steph Curry and Curry leaped and rolled off Ariza and onto the court.

Curry stayed on the court for a few minutes before getting up and slowly walking to the locker room.

With Curry in the locker room, Klay Thompson caught fire. Thompson nailed back-to-back threes during a 10-2 run to reduce the Rockets' lead to 13 points (59-46) with 4:08 remaining until halftime. Thompson drained two more threes to slice the lead to just seven points (66-59) before Jason Terry made a huge three-point shot with 8.4 seconds remaining to give the Rockets a 69-59 lead at halftime.

After shooting 77.3% in the first quarter, the Rockets shot 38.9% (7 for 18) in the second quarter. Golden State shot 62.5% (15 for 24) in the second quarter. Thompson scored 16 points in the quarter.

The lead shrunk to eight points; but, Harden, Smith, and Trevor Ariza each scored to boost the lead to 12 points.

With 5:58 left in the third quarter, Curry checked into the game; but, he struggled for a few minutes and the Rockets took advantage with 9 straight points (6 from Harden and 3 from Terrence Jones) to boost the lead to 90-71.

The lead ballooned to 22 after a Harden to Clint Capela alley-oop slam; but, the Warriors finished the quarter with a 13-6 run.

The Rockets led 99-84 after three quarters.

Thompson continued his hot shooting early in the fourth quarter with two more three-point baskets to trim the Rockets' lead to 102-95. Harden nailed a step-back jumper; but, Curry swished a three to pull the Warriors within six points.

However, Harden scored seven straight points during a 10-0 run to give the Rockets a 114-98 lead with 5:01 remaining in the game.

In the final two minutes of the game, the Rockets made an announcement urging the fans to remain inside Toyota Center rather than brave the bad weather.

The lead dwindled to eight points; but,  Harden, once again, nailed a three-point shot for an 11 point lead with just 1:42 on the game clock.

Harden made 6 of 11 two point shots; 7 of 11 three-point shots; and 12 of 13 foul shots for his 45 points. He added 9 boards and five assists.

Josh Smith added 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Trevor Ariza scored 17 points. Dwight Howard scored 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Terrence Jones chipped in 14 points off the bench.

The Rockets made 17 of 32 three-point attempts while the Warriors made 20 three-pointers to set a new NBA record for most three-point makes in a playoff game.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oakland.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's Rockets' write-ups.