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The Houston Rockets continued to steam toward the NBA playoffs on Thursday with a 101-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers while LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers' run of disappointment in Portland continued. ouston's Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden scored 24 points with seven assists and five rebounds, and his step-back jump shot to put the Rockets up by four points with 29.4 seconds left helped the Western Conference leaders put away the determined Clippers. Eric Gordon added 23 points off the bench for Houston, who saw five players score in double figures but uncharacteristically struggled from three-point range.