Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) passes the ball around Sacramento Kings guard Ray McCallum (3) and guard Ben McLemore (23) in the second half at Toyota Center in Houston, April 1, 2015. Rockets won 115 to 111. [Photo/SIPA & Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports]

ROCKETS 115, KINGS 111

James Harden strengthened his case for the MVP award with a career-high 51 points, and the Houston Rockets squandered a huge early lead but held on for a 115-111 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Houston was up by nine with about eight minutes left when Sacramento used a 9-2 spurt to get within 104-102 with 5 { remaining. An 8-0 run by Harden, which he capped with a 3-point play, pushed the lead to 112-104. Four straight points by the Kings cut the lead to four with less than a minute left, but they didn't score after that.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with his second career triple-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists after missing Monday's game to rest. He also had six blocks.

Wednesday's performance surpassed Harden's previous career best of 50 points, which came on March 19.