James Harden recorded his 32nd double-double, and the visiting Houston Rockets completed a sweep of their four-game season series with the Sacramento Kings with a 130-105 win on Tuesday.

Two days following the murder of his friend, rapper Nipsey Hussle, Harden paired 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting with 10 assists, as the Rockets cruised to a wire-to-wire victory.

Harden sank 7 of 12 3-pointers for Houston (50-28), which led by as many as 30 points while improving to 17-4 since the All-Star break to move a half-game ahead of Portland in pursuit of the third seed in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers own the tie-breaker should the teams finish with identical records.

Eric Gordon added 19 points, Danuel House Jr. scored 19 off the bench, and P.J. Tucker chipped in 13 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Rockets a 62-46 lead at the intermission. Harden had 23 points and four assists at the break; Gordon and Tucker combined for 21 points.

Buddy Hield scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half and was the only Kings player to reach double figures prior to the intermission. Rookie forward Marvin Bagley Jr. posted 19 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento (38-40), which has dropped 13 of 21 games since the break. The Kings were eliminated from postseason contention with a 119-108 loss in Houston on Saturday.

While the Rockets shot 26 of 61 from behind the arc, the Kings finished 7 of 23 on 3-pointers.

The Rockets raced to a 12-point lead in the first quarter, drilling 6 of 15 3s, while the Kings missed 6 of 8 from deep. Hield (10 points, four rebounds, three assists) played well early but could not offset strong starts from Harden and Tucker, who combined for 17 points.

Houston extended to a 59-46 lead with 1:21 left in the first half when Harden scored twice in a 15-second span, with Chris Paul recording a steal following the initial Harden basket and providing the assist on the second.

During one three-plus minute stretch in the third, Harden recorded two assists and three 3s, capping that run with a four-point play that stretched the advantage to 89-68 with 3:21 remaining in the period.

--Field Level Media