Rockets 118, Nuggets 108: James Harden scored a career-high 50 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists as Houston shoved aside visiting Denver.

Harden went 12-of-27 from the field and 22-of-25 from the free-throw line for the Rockets, who pulled within one game of Memphis for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. Trevor Ariza added 17 points, Josh Smith had 12 off the bench and Terrence Jones scored 10 points in nine minutes before leaving with a rib injury for Houston.

Wilson Chandler and Randy Foye each scored 23 points and Kenneth Faried collected 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets. Jameer Nelson scored 13 points in a reserve role and Ty Lawson added 12 points and 10 assists for Denver.

Foye and Nelson each hit a 3-pointer during an 11-2 run starting the fourth quarter that pulled the Nuggets within eight. Harden drained a jumper to push the lead to 104-91 with 4:05 left and surpassed his previous career high of 46 on a pair of free throws with 1:02 to play before providing the dagger and hitting 50 with a 3-pointer on the next possession.

Harden’s layup capped a 9-1 run through the middle of the second quarter that left the Rockets in front 49-38, and an 8-1 spurt closing the half pushed the gap to 65-49 at the break. The advantage reached 18 points with 6:33 left in the third and Harden scored seven points in a 9-1 burst that made it 90-73 entering the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Harden has seven games of 40 or more points this season, tied with Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook for the most in the NBA. … The Rockets honored the back-to-back championship teams of 1994 and 1995 in a halftime ceremony. … The Nuggets fell to 6-4 under interim coach Melvin Hunt.