Western Conference eighth placed Houston Rockets got the better of Toronto Raptors with a 113-107 victory at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday evening - bringing an end to the Eastern Conference second best squad's home game winning streak.

James Harden finished the game with game-highs 40 big points and 14 assists to lead the Rockets to their 31^st win in 63 games played this season. Their victory snapped the Raptors' 12-game home winning stretch.

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"From here on out there's 20 games left, so each and every game counts, so we've got to find a way to come away with wins," James Harden, who shot 11 of 20 from the field and connected 3 for 7 from the three-point marker, said.

Reserve Corey Brewer, who made 5 treys out of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc area, scored 23 points coming off the bench, while the starting center Dwight Howard contributed 21 points and 11 boards before fouling out in the final quarter.

Trevor Ariza, who played for over 40 minutes in the court, chipped in with 13 points and 3 steals for the Rockets. With the he victory, the Rockets beat the Raptors in their home for the first time since 2006-07 season.

"The second half was key," Houston coach J.B. Bickerstaff said."After giving up (a) 30-point first quarter (and 31-point) second quarter, the third and fourth quarters we held them to the low 20s and that's a sign of who we can be."

The win strengthens Houston's hold on the eighth and last spot of the Western Conference. With 31 wins and 32 losses, the Rockets are two victories ahead of the ninth-place Utah Jazz, who currently holds a 29-33 record. The Rockets can even finish in a better playoff position, with sixth place Dallas (33-30) and seventh place Portland (33-31) not so far ahead.

Argentine Luis Scola led the Raptors with 21 points, while DeMar DeRozan, who had the task of guarding Harden, had 19 points and Kyle Lowry added 17.

Tagshouston rockets, Toronto Raptors, James Harden, NBA