Harden leads Rockets past Cavaliers in chippy OT thriller

James Harden had the last laugh in a dramatic Sunday affair against fellow MVP hopeful LeBron James. 

Harden helped the Houston Rockets escape with a narrow 105-103 overtime victory in a chippy, wildly entertaining game over James's Cleveland Cavaliers. 

James was tremendous, but missed multiple opportunities to finish off the Rockets, including a long-range shot with Trevor Ariza draped all over him as time expired in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. And he once again came up short at his chance for redemption in OT. James was fouled with 4.2 seconds remaining, but missed both free-throw attempts to cap a horrific day at the charity stripe. 

The four-time MVP's 37-point, eight-rebound, four-assist, three-steal, three-block game was overshadowed by his rough shooting. James shot a miserable 3-of-11 from the line and 15-of-35 from the field - including 4-of-12 from long range - as the Cavaliers dropped their second consecutive contest. 

He sent out the following tweet after the game:

"I didn't come through for my teammates," James told reporters. "I tripped the game up at the (free throw) line ... I didn't come through. It won't happen again."

Harden went to the line with 0.6 seconds remaining, putting the Rockets up two points after nailing one free throw and purposely missing the other to try to let time expire. But that left Cleveland one last, desperation chance to tie it.

The Cavaliers, however, weren't able to get a shot off with 0.3 seconds left, allowing the Rockets to extend their winning streak to five games. 

Houston did its best to get under James's skin. James got into multiple scuffles - his first was with Patrick Beverley, and the second came after he was kicked in the groin by Harden, prompting the latter to get called for a flagrant foul.

The superstars later got tangled up on a bizarre no-call.

Harden scored 33, adding eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks to help the surging Rockets move 1.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the Southwest Division. He shot 8-of-15 from the field, and converted on 15-of-18 shots from the stripe. 

Terrence Jones added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Tristan Thompson had a huge outing for the Cavaliers, dropping 14 points and hauling in a season-high 19 boards.

The discrepancy between Harden and James's performances at the line was a crucial component of the outcome, but the two proved why they're at the front of the MVP discussion with Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook.

James guarded Harden exclusively down the stretch, the two exchanged ridiculous off-balance baskets and each made key defensive plays in a game-of-the-year contender.

No one would likely complain if these teams met in the NBA Finals. The game was feisty from the start and the tensions only escalated in the second half, making this March contest feel more like the playoffs.