James Harden was in the thick of the action as the Houston Rockets held on to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-103 after overtime in a fiery NBA contest on Sunday.

NBA MVP candidate Harden posted 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to lead the Western Conference third seeds (41-18) to a two-point victory at Toyota Center in Houston and a fifth successive win.

LeBron James, who finished with a game-high 37 points, missed a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime as the Cavs (37-24) crashed to back-to-back defeats.

Earlier in the game, Harden was called for a flagrant foul for appearing to kick James below the belt late in the third quarter.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third, Harden fell to floor and his foot made contact with James' lower abdominal region.

"Obviously that's not a basketball play," James said afterwards as the Cavs missed the opportunity to go top in the Eastern Conference Central Division.

"Obviously, the league will probably take a look at it.

"I have no idea why he would do that, but two competitors just trying to go at it and he won this one."

The NBA-leading Golden State Warriors were forced to do it the hard way on the road, rallying from 26 points down to beat the Boston Celtics 106-101.

Golden State trailed 56-30 in the second quarter but 37 points from All-Star Stephen Curry helped the visitors erase the deficit at TD Garden in Boston.

Klay Thompson contributed 20 points for the Warriors (46-11), while Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green scored 17 and 14 points respectively.

The Celtics (23-34) were led by Isaiah Thomas and his 20 points off the bench.

Elsewhere, the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers also won.

Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge lifted the Trail Blazers to a 110-99 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Lillard had 31 points and seven assists, while Aldridge scored 26 points and collected 15 rebounds for the in-form Trail Blazers (39-19), who extended their winning streak to three games.

Rudy Gay was the pick of the bunch for the Kings (20-37), registering 24 points.

In Chicago, Chris Paul had a double-double as the Clippers trumped the Bulls 96-86.

Paul sunk 28 points and dished off 12 assists to inspire the Clippers (39-21), while team-mate DeAndre Jordan collected 26 rebounds.

The under strength Bulls (37-23) - missing Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler - were led by Nikola Mirotic's 29 points.

In other results, the Oklahoma City Thunder saw off the Los Angeles Lakers 108-101 in the absence of All-Star duo Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

The New Orleans Pelicans accounted for the Denver Nuggets 99-92, the Philadelphia 76ers were beaten 94-74 by the Indiana Pacers and the Charlotte Hornets were 98-83 winners against the Orlando Magic.