James Harden’s big second half leads Rockets past Nuggets

James Harden scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and Houston pulled away to win 109-99 at Denver on Tuesday night, sending the Nuggets to a fourth straight loss. Harden also had 11 assists, with several going to Clint Capela, who led the Rockets with 24 points, including a series of dunks. Chris Paul added 21 points for Houston, playing for a third straight game without Carmelo Anthony because of what the team said was an illness. Monte Morris had 19 points for the Nuggets, who have lost their past eight meetings with Houston.