SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As the clock ticked off the final seconds of the first quarter Sunday, Houston Rockets guard James Harden methodically dribbled, measuring up the space between him and a defender.

Then, as the clock hit the final two seconds, Harden stopped the dribble, rose up and fired from 25 feet. The shot proved true, barely rippling the net on its way through the hoop and leaving Houston with a 15-point lead after one quarter.

It was but one of many shots the Rockets made in a 135-128 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center that featured Harden's 21st triple-double of the season, but for Harden's teammates, it also stood out.

"That shot right there, it just shows who he is," Rockets forward Ryan Anderson said. "He's a special player. There are not a lot of players who come around like him, and he does it effortlessly. ... He's having a ridiculous year, and he's leading us. He's the MVP in my opinion."

Anderson's opinion may be in the minority -- Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook is considered the favorite to take home the MVP hardware after breaking Oscar Robertson's 55-year-old record with his 42nd triple-double Sunday -- but nobody will convince Anderson or Harden's other teammates they're wrong.

Against Sacramento, Harden scored 35 points, added 15 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds as Houston (54-26) completed its first season sweep of the Kings since the 1997-98 season and reached the 54-win plateau for the third time in four seasons.

Harden didn't shoot the ball spectacularly, going 9 of 22 from the field, but he did make five 3-pointers while making an array of pretty passes in a game in which six Houston players scored in double figures.

"He has a knack for making the right play every single time," Anderson said.

Harden said he is not getting caught up in the MVP discussion and gave Westbrook kudos after the contest. The two will see each other shortly; Westbrook's game-winner in Oklahoma City's 106-105 road win at Denver assured the Rockets will face the Thunder in the opening round of the playoffs.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Harden said of Westbrook's mark, adding that he planned to text the Thunder star to congratulate him. "He's played extremely well all season long. It's great."

Anderson, a Sacramento native, also lit up his hometown team, scoring 21 points and canning 6 of 8 3-pointers, including his first five attempts. Anderson didn't miss from beyond the arc until launching a 30-footer shortly after swishing one from 27 feet.

"I felt like I had it going," he said. "I had open looks, and those shots are ones I normally would take."

Anderson played for only the second time since returning from a six-game absence caused by an ankle injury, and his return will move guard Eric Gordon back to his sixth-man role. Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni rested Gordon on Sunday, along with backup forward Trevor Ariza and center Nene.

The Rockets hardly seemed to miss them. They put up 78 first-half points and used a 15-2 third-quarter run to puncture a Kings rally that had cut Houston's lead to 88-82. Their 135 points were a season-high.

Clint Capela and Lou Williams added 18 points apiece, Bobby Brown had 16 and Troy Williams scored 12 for Houston.

Rookie Skal Labissiere scored 25 points to lead the Kings.

"He competed," Kings coach Dave Joerger said of Labissiere. "There's a level of experience that you have to have. They're playing at a doctoral thesis level, and here is a young guy in his first year, and it's going fast."

Ty Lawson added 20 points and 11 assists, Ben McLemore scored 18 points, and Willie Cauley-Stein contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cauley-Stein has recorded five straight double-digit scoring games, the best streak in his two seasons.

NOTES: Rockets G and MVP candidate James Harden is assured of becoming only the second player in NBA history to average at least 29.0 points, 11.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds in a single season. Hall of Fame G Oscar Robertson did it three times. ... The Kings held out G Darren Collision, G Arron Afflalo, F Tyreke Evans and C Kosta Koufos, with only Afflalo (lower back strain) listed with an injury. Koufos played Sacramento's first 66 games but has sat out the past four and seven of the past 12. ... Rockets F Ryan Anderson, a Sacramento native, has averaged 15.0 points and made 53 percent of his 3-pointers (38-for-72) in 12 career contests in his hometown. Anderson has averaged 20.3 points and made 18 of 27 3-pointers in his past four in Sacramento. .... Kings rookie F Skal Labissiere has played in 24 consecutive games, averaging 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds, after playing only seven of the team's first 56.