HOUSTON — When these teams met in December, the Celtics surged back from a 26-point deficit to grab one of the most improbable wins of the NBA season.

In the days that preceded this rematch here Saturday, Boston coach Brad Stevens frequently cautioned that this Houston team is quite different than the one the Celtics faced then. The Rockets were without starters Chris Paul and Clint Capela, as well as key reserve Luc Mbah A Moute. Also, Houston was now in the midst of a 14-game winning streak, the second longest in the NBA this season.

In this game Saturday, there was neither a 26-point deficit nor a massive comeback. Instead, two of the NBA’s heavyweights traded blows throughout a tense and taut game befitting the national spotlight it was given.

In the end, the Rockets held off a sterling performance by the Celtics’ bench and dodged Marcus Smart’s potentially game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, as they grabbed a 123-120 victory and stretched their winning streak to 15 games.

Houston needs one more win to tie the Celtics’ 16-game winning streak that remains tops in the NBA this season.

“I just thought they maximized more possessions than we did,’’ Stevens said. “But those were two good teams playing, and both teams deserve a lot of credit for how they played.’’

The Celtics had led, 113-107, when Kyrie Irving got to the basket to try to extend the lead, but his tough layup rolled in and out. At the other end, P.J. Tucker quickly cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer from the left corner.

After the teams traded baskets, Tucker came up with a steal in the backcourt after a missed 3-pointer. He fed Trevor Ariza, who drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score at 115 with 1:33 left.

Ariza then came up with another steal and coasted in for a layup that gave the Rockets a 2-point lead. Al Horford missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Celtics the lead, and then on the next possession missed a shot inside that would have tied it.

With 7.4 seconds left and Houston leading, 119-117, James Harden went to the foul line to all but end the Celtics’ hopes. He made the first, but then missed the second, as the ball caromed out of bounds with 6.1 seconds left.

The Rockets fouled Irving near the sideline with 5.1 seconds left. Irving hit the first and appeared to try to intentionally miss the second, but it went in off the backboard.

Chris Paul hit a pair of foul shots, and then Houston fouled Irving again with 2.8 seconds left. He made the first and this time successfully missed the second, but it did not hit the rim, so it resulted in a violation against the Celtics.

Afterward, Irving was frustrated by his inability to successfully miss intentionally.

“I suck at them,’’ he said. “I’ve been probably up there five, four, times, and I’ve failed every single time at trying to miss on purpose. I don’t know. Don’t ask me. I keep telling my teammates, ‘I’m not good at missing.’ I’m not. I’m serious.’’

Eric Gordon then made one of two foul shots, and the long inbounds pass came to Smart along the left arc. His tough fadeaway 3-pointer appeared to be online, but it thudded off the front of the rim, giving Houston the win.

Harden had 26 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds to pace the Rockets, and Gordon made seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points. The Celtics received another masterful performance from their bench, which scored 67 of the team’s 120 points. Marcus Morris had 21 of them, and Greg Monroe added 18, his high as a Celtic.

Boston lost despite making 13 of 24 3-pointers and 19 of 21 foul shots.

The early stages of the game looked similar to the early stages of plenty of Rockets games this season. Houston poured in 3-pointers, punished opponents’ switches, and let Harden go to work.

During one two-minute stretch, Boston turned the ball over three times and Harden and Ariza combined to drill three 3-pointers, helping Houston to a 17-13 lead.

Irving had a quiet start, going just 1 for 5 in the opening quarter, but the Celtics’ bench picked him up. With Boston trailing, 30-22, a group including four bench players and Jayson Tatum uncorked a massive 20-3 run in which the Celtics were 7 for 7 from the field and 6 for 6 from the foul line. With 8:40 left in the second quarter, Paul was whistled for his third foul when Smart backed him down in the post.

Paul returned later in the quarter, but it seemed his aggressiveness took a bit of a dip during his relatively quiet first half.

The Rockets lingered despite the Celtics’ scorching shooting, mostly thanks to Harden, who had 16 points and 7 assists in the first half. But Houston had some messy misses in the final minute. First, Capela’s wide-open dunk thudded off the back of the rim, and then on the next possession Houston missed two seemingly simple tip-ins, with the second one awkwardly landing on the back of the rim and staying there, resulting in a jump ball that the Celtics won.

Boston made 53.5 percent of its shots overall, 61.5 percent of its 3-pointers, and 90.9 percent of its free throws in the opening half. But it did seem a bit dangerous that its lead was just 64-58 despite this scorching shooting.

Jaylen Brown was frustrated with fouls called against him while he was defending Harden throughout the night, and when he collected his fourth with 10:40 left in the third it boiled over and he received a technical foul.

That was one of three technical fouls the Celtics received in the quarter, all for arguing about calls.

With the Celtics leading, 74-67, Houston went on a quick 9-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers.

But the Celtics got three layups in the final 51 seconds — two by Monroe — to take an 89-86 lead to the fourth.

After a Paul 3-pointer gave the Rockets a 96-95 lead, Morris took over. First he drilled back-to-back threes to put Boston back in front. Then after Tatum lost the ball on a drive, Morris gathered it and threw down a dunk. Finally, with 6:27 left Morris drained a deep three from the left arc.

In a stretch of just 2 minutes, 36 seconds, Morris had scored 11 points and staked the Celtics to a 108-102 lead.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.