TORONTO -- After producing his 10th triple-double of the season, it was a single-digit number that brought the biggest smile from James Harden.

He had 40 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, but when asked which of those numbers brought him the most satisfaction, the chose the blocks.

"Key plays at the end of the game," Harden said after the Houston Rockets' 129-122 comeback victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. "It was a charge. Just try to do the intangible things to help out. Obviously, we know I can hit shots and whatnot, but just trying to do the small things that win games."

Both blocks were on Toronto star DeMar DeRozan, the second with 2:01 to play. The plays helped the Rockets, who trailed by 13 points in the third quarter, rally to extend their winning streak to eight games.

"They put their heads down, attacked our feet," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "There was a stretch where we played good basketball for 39 minutes, but it is a 48-minute game, and we have to extend that."

Harden said the key to the Rockets' success is unselfishness.

"Helping each other out, having each other's backs," he said. "Offensively, we're knocking down shots, we're playing off the catch, we're doing the small things to help each other out."

Harden registered at least a double-double in a 17th consecutive game. He also had two steals Sunday, and he committed 10 turnovers.

"We had 15 turnovers as a team and I had 10 of them, and I've got the ball in my hands 90 percent of the time," he said. "It's going to happen. I can have 15 turnovers, as long as we have 15 turnovers as a team, it doesn't matter, who cares."

The Rockets were 2 of 11 in 3-point attempts in the first half and finished at 11 of 38 from beyond the arc.

"Our defense got a lot tougher and we were able to get into the open floor and made some good shots," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Obviously, Trevor (Ariza) got off there and kept us in the game. But we mostly got out in transition, either got fouled or got layups. That came from our defense."

The Raptors took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Houston opened the fourth with 15 straight points to take the lead and never gave it back. Harden's 3-pointer with 1:08 to play gave the Rockets an 11-point edge.

Montrezl Harrell scored 28 points and Eric Gordon added 19 -- both players coming off the bench -- and Ariza had 17 points for Houston (30-9).

DeRozan led Toronto with 36 points and DeMarre Carroll equaled his career best with 26 points, sinking a career-high six 3-pointers.

The Raptors gave up a 19-point, third-quarter lead in losing to the Chicago Bulls in overtime on Saturday.

"It just (stinks) in the moment, especially two nights in a row," DeRozan said. "It happened and you just have to lock in. We can make 1 million excuses in the world, but it's not about that. It's just about understanding key moments in the game, where we have to pick it up and realize that we have to play harder."

Kyle Lowry added 12 points and Norman Powell and Cory Joseph had 10 each for the Raptors, who have lost two in a row.

Toronto (24-13) led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter but settled for a 37-27 advantage when Gordon closed the period with a 3-pointer.

Ariza finished the half with a 3-pointer, and the Raptors' lead was down to 63-61 at the intermission.

Houston took the lead when Ryan Anderson opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. The Raptors regained a nine-point lead when Carroll knocked down his second 3-pointer of the second half with 7:31 to play in the third quarter. Carroll made another 3-pointer with 6:13 to play in the quarter and Toronto led 83-70.

Ariza's 3-pointer with 1:40 to play in the third reduced Toronto's lead to six points. Harden made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter, and the Raptors led 99-95.

The Rockets scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter -- including two 3-pointers by Ariza -- to lead 110-99.

The Raptors scored their first point of the fourth when Lowry made one of two free throws with 8:50 to play. Toronto, which fell behind by 12 points, pulled back to within five on a pull-up jumper by DeRozan with 7:19 to play.

Gordon completed a three-point play with his free throw and the Rockets led by eight with 5:54 left. When Harden scored four straight points, Houston's lead went to 121-111.

NOTES: Raptors F Patrick Patterson (strained left knee) returned to the lineup Sunday after missing the four previous games. He finished with eight points and seven rebounds. ... Toronto recalled G Fred VanVleet and F Bruno Caboclo from the Raptors 905 of the D-League on Saturday. Neither played Sunday. ... The Rockets' longest winning streak this season is 10. ... The Raptors defeated the Rockets 115-102 on Nov. 23 in Houston in the previous meeting between the teams this season. ... The Rockets assigned F Kyle Wiltjer to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League on Sunday. ... The Rockets are home to the Charlotte Hornets at home on Tuesday for their next game. ... The Raptors will play their next game on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre against the Boston Celtics.