Russell Westbrook records triple-double as Houston Rockets hand Toronto Raptors second-straight loss

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Gilbert McGregor
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Behind a season-high 28-points from Ben McLemore, the Houston Rockets earned a 119-109 win over the Toronto Raptors.

After back-to-back 50-point games, league scoring leader James Harden finished with just 23 points (on 7-for-11 shooting) while Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

For Toronto, Pascal Siakam finished with a team-high 24 points but scored just six in the second half. Kyle Lowry found his rhythm after a rough first game back from injury but it ultimately wasn't enough, as the Raptors' second-half rally came up short.

If you missed any of the action, check below for updates from throughout the night.

Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets

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Final: Houston Rockets 119, Toronto Raptors 109

9:53 p.m. –  The ruling has been overturned.

It's an offensive foul on Fred VanVleet and the Raptors still trail by six with under a minute remaining.

9:50 p.m. –  It's a two-possession game with 1:14 remaining.

Houston leads 115-109.

Pending an officials review, Fred VanVleet could be stepping to the line for three shots to cut into the deficit.

9:44 p.m. –  Under four minutes remain in regulation and the Rockets are holding on to an eight-point lead.

It's 113-105 with 3:49 remaining.

Can Toronto stage one last rally? It will need to string some stops and buckets together.

9:35 p.m. –  After being checked out in the locker room, James Harden is back on the floor and making his mark.

After a quick and-one and a triple, he's up to 23 points on the night and the Rockets are back up by 10.

Timeout on the floor as Houston leads 113-103 with 6:31 remaining.

Ben McLemore now has 28 points to lead all scorers and P.J. Tucker has scored a big 18 points in this one.

Each time the Raptors rally it appears the Rockets have the perfect answer. Can they stage one more in this one?

End of Third Quarter: Houston Rockets 94, Toronto Raptors 88

9:22 p.m. –  After an errant elbow from Serge Ibaka, James Harden has been taken to the locker room.

More to come.

9:21 p.m. –  Just one quarter remains and the Rockets hold on to a six-point lead.

Ben McLemore leads all scorers with a season-high 25 points while James Harden is up to 17 points for Houston.

Toronto is led by the trio of Pascal Siakam (24 points), Kyle Lowry (19 points) and Fred VanVleet (18 points), who energized Toronto's third-quarter rally.

9:13 p.m. –  This one's getting good.

Ben McLemore drains his seventh triple of the night to put the Rockets back ahead. McLemore has 23 points on the night, just one point shy of a season-high.

With 2:01 remaining in the quarter, Houston leads 89-86.

The Raptors and Rockets are going back-and-forth in the third frame as we've seen a few ties and lead changes in the past few minutes.

9:09 p.m.  – Kyle Lowry gives the Raptors their first lead of the night with a pair of free throws.

It's 76-75 with five minutes left to go in the third.

9:01 p.m. –  A FredVanVleet steal leads to a lob from OG Anunoby to Pascal Siakam

It's a 7-0 run for the Raptors, who have cut the deficit to five.

Timeout on the floor as Houston leads 74-69 with 7:19 left in the third.

James Harden is coming alive as he's already matched his first-half total in the first five minutes in the quarter. He's up to 12 points in the game.

For Toronto, Pascal Siakam is up to 22 points while Kyle Lowry (11 points) and Fred VanVleet (14 points) have joined him as the three Raptors in double figures.

Halftime: Houston Rockets 63, Toronto Raptors 55

8:45 p.m. –  Halftime stats:

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8:38 p.m. –  One half is in the books and the Rockets lead by eight points.

The Raptors closed the half on a 13-5 run to bring things within striking distance after trailing by 16 points.

For Houston, it's been a relatively quiet night for James Harden, who has scored six points after going 2-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. It's the supporting cast of Danuel House (16 points), Ben McLemore (14 points) and P.J. Tucker (11 points) that have done the majority of the scoring.

Russell Westbrook has also added nine points.

Pascal Siakam leads all scorers with 18 points (on 7-for-14 shooting) and is the only Raptor to score in double figures in the first half.

Fred VanVleet has scored nine points and dished out five assists while Kyle Lowry has scord eight points and dished out four assists for Toronto.

With some momentum going into the second half, the Raptors will look to turn things around.

8:25 p.m. –  The Rockets are rolling.

Houston now leads 58-42 as it's knocked down 10 of its 23 3-point attempts in the game.

Timeout Toronto with 4:08 left in the half.

Danuel House (16 points) is one of three Rockets in double-figures as P.J. Tucker and Ben McLemore have each scored 11 points.

Russell Westbrook isn't far off with nine points while James Harden has scored six points and attempted just two shots.

For the Raptors, Pascal Siakam leads the way with 16 points, but the team has struggled to get going as it is now 6-for-23 from beyond the arc.

8:18 p.m. –  Timeout on the floor as the Rockets have built their biggest lead of the night.

Houston is up 50-38 with 6:54 to go in the second quarter.

This game has consisted of sloppy play and 3-point shooting.

While the Rockets have committed 10 turnovers, they're shooting 9-for-20 from beyond the arc.

The Raptors have committed nine turnovers so far but are shooting just 6-for-20 from deep.

End of First Quarter: Houston Rockets 34, Toronto Raptors 28

8:07 p.m. –  The Houston Rockets have built a six-point lead after one.

In his first game back, Danuel House has scored 14 points in just six minutes.

James Harden has scored just three points in the first.

Pascal Siakam has 14 points for the Raptors, who are shooting 11-for-23 from the field.

8:00 p.m. –  3-point shooting is the name of the game.

One minute remains in the first quarter and both the Rockets and Raptors have each attempted 14 triples.

Toronto is 5-for-14 while Houston is 6-for-14.

The Rockets are led by Ben McLemore and Danuel House, who have scored eight points apiece. James Harden has two points on 1-for-1 shooting early on.

For the Raptors, Pascal Siakam leads the way with a game-high 14 points (on 6-for-10 shooting) after a rough outing Tuesday.

7:50 p.m. –  We've reached our first break in the action.

A layup from Pascal Siakam ties things up and Mike D'Antoni calls for a timeout.

It's 12 all with 5:55 remaining in the opening frame.

Siakam has four early on while OG Anunoby leads the Raptors with five points. They've also forced six Rockets turnovers already.

Houston has already hit three triples and is led by Ben McLemore, who has a game-high six points.

7:43 p.m. –  Things are underway at Scotiabank Arena

P.J. Tucker gets the Rockets on the board first with a corner triple but Fred VanVleet quickly responds with a 3 of his own.

Pregame

7:38 p.m. –  The Rockets will go with a starting lineup of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Ben McLemore, P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela


6:50 p.m. –  Starting for Toronto: Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol

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Gilbert McGregor Photo
Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.