Harden's 40; Beverley's doubl-double leads Rockets in destruction of the Suns

Posted: February 11, 2017 -- 11:40 pm CST.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets did what great teams do to lesser opponents: jump on the opponent early and keep the opponent down. The Rockets never trailed in a 133-102 whitewash of the Phoenix Suns Saturday night.

The 31 point margin of victory is the largest margin of victory in the Rockets' all-time series versus the Phoenix Suns.

James Harden scored 40 points in only 29 minutes of game action. Sleepy Floyd was the last Rockets player to score at least 40 points in fewer than 30 minutes. (Floyd scored 40 in 24 minutes versus the Denver Nuggets February 26, 1991.)

The Suns played last night and did not arrive in Houston until 4 a.m. Saturday morning. In addition to the Suns' late arrival into Houston, the Suns decided to rest guard Eric Bledsoe and center Tyson Chandler. Those two factors plus a rested and superior Rockets' team resulted in the blowout victory.

"Yeah, you know they (the Suns) played last night; and, they didn't even get in (Houston) until four or five in the morning," head coach Mike D'Antoni said during his post-game press conference. "So, we thought that would be a key; and, you can see with having a couple days off, our legs are fresher."

The Rockets led 7-0 in less than two minutes of action. The Suns called timeout; but, the onslaught was just beginning as the Rockets scored six more points before Devin Booker scored a driving lay-up to end the Suns' scoreless drought.

The Rockets led by as much as 24 points in the first quarter before settling for a 38-24 lead after the game's first 12 minutes. Harden scored 13 points in the opening quarter; and, Ryan Anderson scored 10.

Harden scored 13 more points in the second quarter. The Rockets outscored the Suns 39-29 in the second quarter and led 77-53 at halftime. The 77 first-half points are the most points the Rockets have scored in a first-half this season.

The lead ballooned to 40 two times in the third quarter; and, the Rockets led by 34 (111-77) after three periods. Harden scored 14 points in the third period to give him 40 in three quarters.

With tonight's win, the Rockets improve to 40-17 on the season. The Rockets won 41 games all of last season. The 40 wins in 57 games is the second-highest win total in franchise history (41 wins in the 1993-'94 season).

Patrick Beverley had one of his best all-around games of the season. Beverley scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and handed out 5 assists. The double-double is Beverley's fourth of the season.

The Rockets close out the pre-All Star Break Wednesday night with a home game versus the Miami Heat. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

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