Rockets 101, Celtics 89: James Harden scored 21 points and Greg Smith added 20 on 8-for-9 shooting off the bench as Houston held off visiting Boston.

Chandler Parsons collected 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets, who have won back-to-back games while holding opponents under 100 points. They had let their previous eight opponents eclipse the century mark.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points and Rajon Rondo recorded 15 points and 13 assists for the Celtics, who dropped their third straight road game.

Houston came out strong in the first half, pushing the lead to as much as 32-23 on Carlos Delfino’s 3-pointer with 9:48 left in the second quarter. Boston woke up after that shot, closing the period with a 22-11 run to take the lead into the half.

The Rockets scored the first six points of the third quarter to reclaim the lead and never trailed again. The Celtics would pull within 88-83 on Pierce’s 3-pointer with 5:09 left, but Harden responded with his own 3-pointer and put it away with a pair of free throws four minutes later.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston PG Jeremy Lin was held to five points on 2-for-6 shooting in 27 minutes and was off the floor in the fourth quarter, when Toney Douglas took over the point. … Rondo committed a season-high seven turnovers. … The Celtics head to San Antonio for the second stop of a three-game trip on Saturday.