HOUSTON - The Houston Rockets took care of Toronto, then looked ahead to a long, emotional Wednesday.
James Harden scored 24 points and matched a career high with 12 assists to lead Houston over the Raptors 117-101 on Tuesday night. Patrick Patterson added 22 points for the Rockets, who have won four in a row. Omer Asik had 13 points and 18 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the season.
Now comes the hard part. The Rockets planned to fly to Minneapolis immediately after the game to attend today's memorial service for Sasha McHale, the 23-year-old daughter of coach Kevin McHale. Sasha McHale died on Saturday from complications of lupus.
The team will then fly from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder tonight.
"I think we're strong enough to get through it," Harden said. "We've got to be there for coach. He's going through a lot right now. Our biggest thing is just supporting him, and making sure we comfort him."
Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points and Terrence Ross added a career-high 19 for the Raptors, who have lost five straight.
PACERS 79, LAKERS 77
LOS ANGELES - George Hill's high-arching shot over Dwight Howard went in with 0.1 seconds left, and the Indiana Pacers withstood Kobe Bryant's 40-point performance and the Lakers' last-minute rally for a 79-77 victory over Los Angeles.
Bryant hit a tying three-pointer with 24.5 seconds left and produced the 114th 40-point game of his career despite playing with an apparent case of the flu for the Lakers, who dropped to 2-3 under new coach Mike D'Antoni.
