Rockets 125, Lakers 112: James Harden had 31 points and nine assists and Chandler Parsons added 20 points as host Houston won its fifth straight game while handing Los Angeles its fourth consecutive defeat.

Carlos Delfino and Jeremy Lin scored 19 points apiece for the Rockets, who used a 38-point third quarter to wrest control of the contest. Delfino hit five of Houston’s 11 3-point baskets.

Los Angeles’ Steve Nash had 16 points and 10 assists to become the fifth player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career assists. Metta World Peace scored a season-high 24 points and Kobe Bryant added 20 for the Lakers, who played without center Dwight Howard (shoulder) and forwards Pau Gasol (concussion) and Jordan Hill (hip).

The Rockets trailed 62-59 at halftime and were down 78-73 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter. Houston responded with an 18-2 run over a three-minute-plus stretch to take an 11-point lead with 1:37 left in the quarter. The Rockets led by double digits most of the final stanza.

Los Angeles opened up an 18-4 lead less than five minutes into the game. Houston had trimmed its deficit to six by the end of the quarter and took its first lead at 47-46 lead on Delfino’s 3-pointer with 4:48 left in the half.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nash (10,005) joins John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson as players to reach 10,000 assists. … Harden has scored 25 or more points in 13 consecutive games to tie the franchise mark set by Moses Malone during the 1981-82 campaign. … Howard downplayed the severity of his shoulder injury one day after the team announced he has a torn labrum. Howard will be re-evaluated next week.