Harden leads Rockets past Warriors 116-107

The game also marked the first appearance in the Bay Area for Lin, who grew up in nearby Palo Alto, since "Linsanity" swept through the NBA a year ago.

The Warriors waived Lin before last season after he played sparingly as a rookie, Houston signed him for a couple of weeks before cutting him and then the Knicks decided to give him a look.

Lin became a sensation in New York. His burst of brilliance on Broadway earned him a three-year, $25 million deal with Houston that the Knicks declined to match.

Lin's backcourt teammate instead was the one who gave Golden State fits.

Harden, wearing a protective sleeve around his knee, landed hard after missing a fast-break layup over Bogut in the first quarter while the Warriors built a nine-point lead. Harden held his knee and limped to the bench during a timeout but stayed in the game.

The Harden-Lin duo dodged defenders and drew fouls with relative ease. The pair combined to go 19 for 19 on free throws, including 15 for 15 in the first half to help Houston take a 57-56 lead at the break.

Golden State had allowed at least 60 points in the first half of each of the past four games.

"I thought for 48 minutes we didn't defend our brand, so it's been consistent with what we've done the last four games," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said.

Harden limped around trying to shake off the pain from his collision with Lee before he made both free throws. He walked gingerly to the locker room and returned a few minutes later, highlighting a 13-5 spurt with a driving dunk that helped Houston take an 88-77 lead that allowed them to cruise in the fourth quarter.

"I was hoping it wasn't bad. I saw the ankle turn and I was like, 'Oh, that's bad for sure,'" Lin said. "He came back out and he played through a lot of everything."

NOTES: The Warriors had won their last game before the All-Star break the past nine seasons. ... The Warriors have sold out 14 straight games, the longest since a renovation prior to the 1997-98 season that increased capacity from 15,025 to 19,956. ... The Warriors hosted Asian Heritage Night. A portion of event-night ticket sales benefited the AsianWeek Foundation's efforts to increase awareness for Hepatitis B.