HOUSTON -- Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff repeatedly broached the subject of late-game collapses and Houston's need to simply do what they did to create leads to begin with. On Sunday, when the Rockets did exactly that, execution looked as simple as theory.

James Harden produced another exceptional performance and the Rockets opted not to wilt down the stretch of a 118-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder that kept their playoff hopes afloat.

Harden had a game-high 41 points plus nine assists and three steals, including one with 37.9 seconds left that preceded his full-court pass to Patrick Beverley, whose dunk gave Houston (38-39) a 112-104 lead.

Harden posted 15 points and five assists in the fourth quarter alone while Beverley scored seven of his 12 points in the period. Trevor Ariza added 18 points and seven rebounds for Houston, which recorded 22 offensive rebounds to offset 40.2 percent shooting. The Rockets finished with 20 more shot attempts than the Thunder and were buoyed by their reserves, notably Clint Capela (nine points, six rebounds, four blocked shots), K.J. McDaniels (10 points), and Andrew Goudelock (two steals).

"I don't think it was just scoring. It was defensively, it was offensive rebounds, it was just being active," said Harden, who set the franchise single-season record for 3s with 211. "When you're active, you're playing hard, good things tend to come to you. Those guys had that mindset of going out there and doing whatever it took for us to win."

Kevin Durant, victimized by the late Harden steal, paired 33 points with eight rebounds, but he bricked a pair of 3-point attempts in the fourth. Russell Westbrook added 23 points, 13 boards and nine assists.

Oklahoma City (53-24), which entered play ranked third in the league in defensive boards, also committed 21 turnovers that yielded 25 points.

Durant and Westbrook combined for 14 turnovers.

"Defensively we were good," Durant said. "They really couldn't score on us, but they got a lot of second-chance points (21, six fewer than the Thunder generated). If you give any team in the league second-chance points, there's a chance they're going to make a game of it."

Before surging ahead to stay in the fourth the Rockets appeared on the verge of being undone by Thunder spurts. Houston turned a 14-3 run in the second quarter into a 50-43 lead when Harden strung together a driving layup and four free throws around 3s from Ariza and Beverley.

But that momentum dissipated quickly, with the Thunder closing the half with a 10-2 burst to take a 53-52 lead into the break. That rally was fueled by three late Houston turnovers, with Westbrook adding a layup to his three-point play and his assist on a fast-break dunk by Durant.

Durant rolled off 10 consecutive points during a 12-0 push that lifted Oklahoma City to a 69-57 lead in the third but the Rockets kept hustling on the offensive glass. Their relentlessness there prevented the Thunder from extending to an insurmountable lead despite those scoring spurts.

"We didn't shoot it like we wanted to shoot it percentage-wise, but the offensive rebounds were the reason why we stayed in the game," Beverley said.

Behind Harden, who turned the tables with a transition basket and a 3, Houston closed to within 74-72. When Harden drilled a step-back jumper with 1:00 left in the third, Houston surged ahead 78-77. Down the stretch he didn't relent, and neither did Houston for a change.

"I think James Harden is what happened late," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said.

NOTES: Rockets F Sam Dekker will travel with the team to Dallas this week and meet with a physician to determine his availability moving forward. Dekker has missed most of his rookie season following back surgery, last playing 10 seconds against the Kings on Nov. 6. ... Thunder coach Billy Donovan played his usual starting lineup and rotation after postseason teams resting regulars impacted the outcome of recent games against the Spurs (March 26), Pistons (March 29) and Clippers (March 31). ... The Rockets' loss to the Bulls on Thursday continued their recent trend of four-quarter collapses at home. The Rockets surrendered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter against Chicago and were outscored by eight against the Jazz on March 23. Even in defeating the Raptors on March 25, Houston surrendered nearly all of its 12-point lead before winning 112-109.