Early in November, the Rockets suffered a 29-point loss in Miami, as part of their 3-3 start to the season.
On Thanksgiving eve, they avenged that loss with a comfortable nine-point at home against a Miami Heat squad that suited up without their superstar in Jimmy Butler.
Here are the biggest takeaways from this game:
Harden & Westbrook carry shorthanded Rockets
Harden scored 34 along with six rebounds and five assists while Russell Westbrook put up a near triple-double of 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, carrying the shorthanded Rockets to this win.
Westbrook did record nine turnovers but he bounced back from his torrid game in Miami, where he was a -46, to play a huge role in this win.
They did a bulk of their damage in the second quarter, contributing 23 to the team's 39 points as the Rockets outscored the Heat by 20 in that period.
The Rockets were without key rotations players and starters in Clint Capela and Eric Gordon (eighth straight game missed).
This win snaps a three-game skid the Rockets suffered after they had previously won eight straight.
Daniel House Jr. and Gary Clark provide ample and efficient support to Harden and Westbrook's tally of 61. While the House Jr. erupted for a career-high 23 on 7-of-11 shooting, Clark poured in 12 on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
Bam Adebayo narrowly misses out on first career triple-double again
For the second time this season, Heat forward Bam Adebayo fell two assists shy of recording his first career triple-double.
In this one, he played a game-high 40 minutes and finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
This game is just another one in his impressive season so far, where he is averaging career-highs across the board - 14.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
He is quietly among the MIP frontrunners, so far this season.
Road struggles or just losses to good teams?
At the Thanksgiving break, the Heat remain one of only four teams, all Eastern Conference franchises, to remain undefeated at home.
All the Heat's five losses have come on the road against very competent teams in Denver, Los Angeles (Lakers), Philadelphia, Minnesota and now in Houston.
So are these a case of road struggles or just losses to good teams? We'll know more in a month as the Heat play nearly the same number of home and road games in the 13 games leading up to Christmas Day.