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Houston Rockets dodge bullet with James Harden knee injury

By Phil Watson

Jan 31, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) is surrounded by his teammates and trainers after he goes down with a lower body injury during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) is surrounded by his teammates and trainers after he goes down with a lower body injury during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Rockets, already without All-Star center Dwight Howard, got a scare Saturday night when James Harden left with a knee injury.

James Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer at 27 points per game for the Houston Rockets, left Saturday night’s game at the Detroit Pistons with an apparent knee injury with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

However, it appears the Rockets dodged a major bullet when Harden returned to the game to start the second half.

Harden played 14 minutes in the first half and was limited to just five points on 2-of-4 shooting as the Pistons took a 59-46 halftime lead. He did have four assists.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 points in the first half for the Pistons. Trevor Ariza was leading the Rockets with 13 points and Patrick Beverley added 10 points.

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Harden was selected Thursday as a reserve for the Western Conference for the Feb. 15 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, his third consecutive all-star berth.

Harden is averaging 27 points, 6.7 assists, 5.5 rebounds and two steals in 36.3 minutes per game, shooting .449/.382/.884.

Harden also leads the NBA in free throws and free throw attempts and his 859 field-goal attempts are also the most in the league.

He came to the Rockets in a Halloween trade in 2012 from the Oklahoma City Thunder for a package of players led by Kevin Martin, along with a 2013 first-round pick and a future first- and second-rounder.

The trade came in the wake of a breakout season that led to him being named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011-12, when he averaged 16.8 points per game as a reserve.

Since coming to the Rockets, Harden is averaging 26 points per game and Houston has gone to the postseason two straight seasons. This year, the Rockets are 33-14, good for third in the Western Conference—4½ games behind the Golden State Warriors entering play on Saturday.

That’s despite Howard missing 15 games—16 counting Saturday—and being without Beverley, their starting point guard, for 12 games so far.

The Rockets also allowed forward Chandler Parsons to leave as a restricted free agent, not matching the offer he received from the in-state rival Dallas Mavericks, opting to bring Ariza back as a free agent to replace Parsons at small forward.

Houston has made some changes on the fly since the start of the season, trading for swingman Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves and adding Josh Smith as a free agent after he was waived by the Pistons on Dec. 26.

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