Eric Gordon led five players in double figures with 25 points Saturday night as the Houston Rockets, playing without star James Harden, used superior depth to stun the Golden State Warriors 118-112 in Oakland, Calif.

The win was the Rockets' third in three meetings with the two-time defending champions this season after Golden State won a seven-game showdown last May in the Western Conference Finals.

This victory was accomplished without Harden, who has scored 30 or more points in 32 consecutive games, the second-longest run in NBA history.

After having been bothered by a sore neck in Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden was listed as questionable for the game even before waking up Saturday morning with what was labeled as flu-like symptoms.

The absence was just his fourth of the season. The Rockets had suffered defeats while he sat out two of his first three times.

With Chris Paul (23 points, 17 assists), Kenneth Faried (20 points, 10 rebounds) and PJ Tucker (18 points, 10 rebounds) all contributing double-doubles, the Rockets ran off to a 20-point lead in the first half and retained a 110-96 advantage after a Clint Capela hoop with 5:42 remaining.

But the Warriors, who lost Draymond Green to a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter, used 3-pointers by Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to get within 116-112 with still 30.4 seconds to play.

Golden State had to foul, however, and Tucker iced the win with two free throws with 18.1 seconds left.

Gerald Green added 10 points for Houston while Capela had a game-high 15 rebounds to complement eight points.

Durant had 29 points, Curry 25 and Thompson 20 for the Warriors, who lost for just the third time in their last 20 games. Cousins finished with a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double for Golden State.

The Rockets wasted no time taking charge, scoring the game's first 15 points. Gordon contributed a pair of 3-pointers and a layup to the crowd-silencing start.

A Thompson 3-pointer finally got the Warriors on the scoreboard 4:15 into the game, but that didn't derail the Rockets, who went onto lead by as many as 16 in the first quarter and 20 in the second.

The Warriors rallied within 61-54 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 10-2 burst to take their first lead of the game at 64-63 in the third minute of the third period.

But again the Rockets responded, this time to go up by as many as nine before period's end.

--Field Level Media