HOUSTON -- With offensive fireworks exploding on both ends of the court, there was little reason to anticipate a pair of defensive stands decisively swinging momentum down the stretch Tuesday night.

Atlanta bigs Al Horford and Paul Millsap posted double-doubles, and the Hawks rallied from a dismal defensive first half and a 19-point deficit to race past the Houston Rockets 121-115 at Toyota Center.

Horford finished with 30 points, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers, and he pulled down 14 rebounds.

Millsap added 22 points, 13 boards and five blocked shots. His block of Rockets center Dwight Howard with 11.6 seconds left preserved a 117-115 lead for Atlanta (21-13). The play followed a timely individual defensive stand from forward Kent Bazemore, who forced Rockets guard James Harden into a shot-clock violation with 49 seconds remaining and the score tied at 115.

"I thought it was good individual defense," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "(Harden) is such a creative offensive player. He gets to the free-throw line, he just knows how to create contact. Baze was disciplined showing his hands, disciplined not giving him the foul."

Bazemore added 26 points while shooting 5-for-9 from 3-point range, and guard Jeff Teague paired 22 points with eight assists to help the Hawks snap the Rockets' seven-game home winning streak. Atlanta overcame another miserable shooting effort from slumping guard Kyle Korver, who missed all 11 of his field-goal attempts, including finishing 0-for-10 on 3-pointers.

Houston (16-17) led 47-28 early in the second quarter, 71-56 at the intermission and 98-88 with 10:32 remaining but scored just one field goal following a Howard dunk with 8:12 to play.

The Hawks ground the Rockets' offense to a halt by intentionally fouling Howard and forward Clint Capela down the stretch, with that duo combining to shoot 7-for-14 from the free-throw line as the lead dwindled in the fourth quarter.

Howard matched Horford for game-high honors with a season-high 30 points and added 16 rebounds. Harden scored 26 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished out eight assists. Harden also committed seven of the Rockets' 20 turnovers, which Atlanta converted into 33 points.

"I think we should have stuck with the same game plan we had in the first half," Howard said. "We did a really good job of moving, playing fast. In the second half, we just kind of got lazy as a team, and you know we can't do that. We've got to get better."

The Hawks, having managed to pull even in the third quarter, finally surged ahead when Millsap converted a baseline drive with 5:09 left for a 104-103 lead. With their intentional-fouling gambit succeeding, the Hawks allowed just one basket down the stretch: a Howard dunk in transition off a behind-the-back pass from Harden with 1:32 remaining.

"They're a good defensive team. You have to give them some credit for what they did tonight," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "The first half I thought we had great pace. We were pushing the ball; we were running. Even in those moments, you need to do things with more thrust."

After going four-plus minutes without scoring and surrendering a 17-0 Rockets run in the process, the Hawks shot their way back into contention. Horford was the linchpin in the second quarter, drilling a pair of 3-poinnters before Teague added a trey that cut the deficit to 12.

After scoring 41 points in the first quarter, the most by an Atlanta opponent this season, the Rockets reached the break with 71 points, a season high for a first half. Their 69.2 shooting percentage before the break was also their best of the season.

However, Atlanta opened the third quarter with two more Horford treys and a three-point play by Millsap. When Bazemore and Millsap nailed consecutive 3-pointers, the Hawks pulled even at 82-82 and showcased that their offense was in rhythm.

"We responded. We just stayed with it," Horford said. "We didn't freak out. We just kept playing our game, and things started to turn our way slowly."

NOTES: Rockets F Terrence Jones was sidelined with flu-like symptoms, missing his first game since Nov. 7. Jones had averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds over 25 games since returning from an eyelid laceration. ... Hawks G Kyle Korver is 2-for-27 on 3-point attempts over his past four games. ... Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed a need to get F Donatas Motiejunas consistent minutes. After averaging 18.8 minutes and 9.7 points per game during a six-game stretch earlier this month, Motiejunas averaged just 6.8 minutes over the three games entering Tuesday. Motiejunas had six points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes against Atlanta.