Rockets 111, Spurs 98: James Harden returned from an ankle injury and scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Houston defeated San Antonio.

Terrence Jones had 21 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and Dwight Howard grabbed 20 rebounds while contributing 15 points. Chandler Parsons scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half and made five 3-pointers as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season.

Manu Ginobili scored 22 points off the bench for San Antonio. Kawhi Leonard added 13 points and Tim Duncan had 11 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots.

The Spurs were within three points early in the fourth quarter before Harden took over a short time later by scoring 11 consecutive Houston points to make it 100-90 with 4:56 remaining. San Antonio closed within eight and the Rockets went on another spurt with Jones scoring the final four of an 8-0 run to make it a 16-point margin with 1:43 left.

Houston exploded to score 40 in the first quarter as the Rockets took a 15-point lead. The advantage was whittled down to 60-51 after the break and Houston boosted the lead back to 13 one minute into the third quarter before settling for an 83-75 edge entering the final stanza.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rockets were 12-of-24 from 3-point range while the Spurs were only 5-of-20. … The double-double was the ninth of the season for Duncan. … Harden had six assists and was 11-of-16 from the field after missing back-to-back contests.