Rockets fire back late, take down Raptors

Video: The Sports Update: Rockets vs. Raptors

TORONTO – Kyle Lowry had barely hit the floor when the whistle blared and Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff went charging on to the floor, livid and impossible to restrain.

Lowry had grabbed Dwight Howard's arm on a shot attempt, with Howard's arm flying up and getting a piece of Lowry's chin. Lowry hit the deck and Howard was hit with a flagrant foul. Bickerstaff looked like he wanted to hit somebody, maybe everybody.

Yet, he showed that the Rockets were not going to go out easily. They would trail by 18 in a gym where they had lost in their past eight trips, the Raptors had won 12 straight and the Rockets were playing a back-to-back after a 3 a.m. arrival.

The Rockets came back anyway. As has become their custom, they fell into a deep hole and rallied, this time surging to perhaps their most inexplicable win, 113-107, at Air Canada Centre on Sunday.

The Rockets turned the game around with James Harden scoring 30 of his 40 points in the second half to go with 14 assists, matching his career high. Corey Brewer had 23 points, one shy of his season-high, as the Rockets burned the Raptors with a small ball lineup as they scored 62 second-half points. Dwight Howard added 21 points with 11 rebounds.

The Rockets even turned around their defense, holding the Raptors to 43.3 percent shooting after they made 52.2 percent in the first half.

Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard (12) dunks on the Toronto Raptors during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Sunday, March 6, 2016. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard (12) dunks on the Toronto Raptors during first half NBA basketball action in Toronto on Sunday, March 6, 2016. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Photo: Mark Blinch, Mark Blinch/ The Canadian Press Photo: Mark Blinch, Mark Blinch/ The Canadian Press Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Rockets fire back late, take down Raptors 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

The Rockets had fallen to their usual hole, trailing by 18 in the first half. They rallied to within 10 at halftime and after trailing by 15 in the third quarter, they came back again.

While maintaining the pattern of so many recent games and especially from the night before in Chicago, the Rockets got much closer than they did in their pursuit of the Bulls with enough time to go in front.

Brewer and Harden opened the fourth quarter with 3-pointers. With the Raptors closing out after Brewer's fifth 3 of the night, he finished a drive to cut the lead to two in a 19-4 Rockets run to end the third quarter and start the fourth.

The Rockets, however, are accustomed to making runs. This one was different because they kept scoring until they took a lead and forced a team to chase them.

Trevor Ariza sank consecutive 3s to put the Rockets in front. Harden drove to set up Howard for a slam, giving the Rockets a three-point lead. Patrick Paterson tied the game with a 3-pointer and the Raptors went in front from the free throw line.

But with Toronto up one and Dwight Howard on the bench with his sixth foul, Harden pulled up to nail a long 3 for the lead. Kyle Lowry missed and Harden put in a pair of free throws for a 109-105 lead with 1:18 left.

Pat Beverley sank a free throw and then set up Clint Capela for a slam to stretch the Rockets to a seven-point lead with 19.3 seconds left.