James Harden scored 17 first-quarter points Wednesday night as the Houston Rockets pushed a winning streak to 14 games for the second time this season, beating the host Los Angeles Clippers 105-92 at Staples Center.

Harden's game-high 25 points made him one of three Houston players to tally 20 or more. Clint Capela and sixth man Eric Gordon each added 22 as the Rockets upped their NBA-best record to 48-13, a half-game ahead of the Golden State Warriors.

Trevor Ariza chipped in 11 points for Houston.

Tobias Harris tallied 24 points and Montrezl Harrell added 22 for the Clippers, who lost for just the fourth time in 11 games since trading Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons.

Milos Teodosic and sixth man Lou Williams added 13 points apiece, but it wasn't enough to keep Los Angeles from falling a half-game behind the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference's last playoff spot.

Houston wasted no time jumping on the tired Clippers, who scored 41 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night to rally from a 19-point deficit and win in Denver. On Wednesday, Harden's 3-pointer with 1:16 left in the first quarter gave the Rockets a 31-7 lead, and it took a Williams 3-pointer to enable Los Angeles to reach double figures for the quarter at 12.

Gordon canned a trey 29 seconds into the second quarter to up the Houston margin to 39-12. The Clippers cut into the deficit somewhat for the period's remainder, but even after Harris drilled a 3-pointer with 14.4 seconds remaining, they still went into halftime trailing 61-43.

Los Angeles made more inroads into the margin in the third quarter, closing within 72-63 when Harrell sank a free throw with 3:42 remaining to cap a 14-1 run. Gordon answered with a 3-pointer 10 seconds later to restore a double-figure lead.

Teodosic started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that pulled the Clippers within 83-75, but the Rockets scored the next seven points, and the lead stayed in double figures for the night's remainder.

Houston finished February 12-0, the third perfect month in franchise history.

--Field Level Media