LOS ANGELES — Houston superstar James Harden continued his historic streak Wednesday night by scoring a career-high and franchise-record 61 points, but it was Eric Gordon who drained the biggest shot, a 3-pointer with nine seconds left that gave the Rockets the lead for good in a wild 114-110 win over the host New York Knicks.
Harden has scored at least 30 points in 21 consecutive games, the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history, behind only three authored by Wilt Chamberlain. “Wilt the Stilt” scored 30 points in 25 straight games during the 1960-61 season, in 31 straight games spanning the 1961-62 and 1962-63 seasons and in 65 straight games during the 1961-62 season.
The 61 points are the most by a player in an NBA game this season — Kemba Walker scored 60 points for the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 17 — and tied for the most ever scored by a Knicks opponent at Madison Square Garden. Kobe Bryant scored 61 points for the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 2, 2009.
There was little suspense regarding Harden’s streak Wednesday, when he scored 19 points in the first quarter, finished the first half with 36 points and ended the third quarter with 49 points. He missed six consecutive shots before reaching 50 points with a jumper with 4:22 left.
The Rockets appeared headed for a relatively easy victory when Harden drained three free throws — the last of which was a technical free throw following the ejection of Knicks head coach David Fizdale — to give Houston a 107-101 lead with 1:08 left.
However, the Knicks scored seven points in a span of 25 seconds and took the lead on Emmanuel Mudiay’s second free throw with 34.9 seconds left. Harden then hit two free throws to give the Rockets a 109-108 lead with 29.9 seconds to go, after which Allonzo Trier responded with a driving layup to put the Knicks back in front 110-109 with 20 ticks left.
Gordon then drained an open 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining, after which the Knicks used their last timeout. New York’s Noah Vonleh subsequently was swallowed up by Gordon, who slapped the ball loose near midcourt. Harden picked up the ball and raced in for the milestone dunk that allowed him to break his previous career-high — set Jan. 30, 2018 against the Orlando Magic — by one point.
Harden also had 15 rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Rockets, who have alternated wins with losses in their last 11 games. Gordon finished with 20 points.
Trier scored a career-high 31 points and added 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost seven straight and 15 of 16.
BIG NIGHTS BY EMBIID, SIMMONS TOO MUCH FOR SPURS IN PHILLY
Joel Embiid scored 33 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the San Antonio Spurs 122-120 on Wednesday.
Ben Simmons secured his eighth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds as the Sixers won their second in a row.
It was Embiid’s 40th double-double of the season as Philadelphia managed another win without guard Jimmy Butler, who sat out with a sore wrist.
JJ Redick shot 6 of 13 from 3-point range for 19 points.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 26 points while Patty Mills and Rudy Gay added 17 apiece. Marco Belinelli had 16.
Belinelli had a chance to tie the game or give the Spurs the lead as San Antonio had the ball with 1.1. seconds left. But Simmons knocked the ball away from Belinelli to preserve the win.
Embiid briefly went to the locker room midway through the second quarter, reportedly to stretch his sore lower back. He was considered questionable to play throughout the day.
Simmons’ 10th assist went to Corey Brewer for a layup with 7.9 seconds left in the first half. DeRozan then hit a pair of free throws to draw the Spurs to within 67-64 at halftime. DeRozan paced the Spurs with 14 points while Bryn Forbes knocked down four 3-pointers to keep them close in the first 24 minutes.
Embiid led the Sixers with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the half.
With little more than five minutes left in the third quarter, the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to grab a 92-85 advantage with 3:25 left in the period.
Embiid finished with 11 points in the third and keyed a spurt to close the quarter with the score tied at 96-96. DeRozan’s 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting helped San Antonio stay even.
Later, Mills hit a 3-pointer from the wing for a 108-103 Spurs lead with 7:40 remaining.
Belinelli later drained a trey from the baseline for a 115-109 lead with 4:54 left, forcing Sixers head coach Brett Brown to take a timeout. Belinelli also knocked down another tough 3-pointer from the same baseline to go ahead 120-112 with 2:46 remaining.
But the Sixers scored the next nine points, highlighted by a four-point play from Redick to put Philadelphia back ahead 121-120 with a minute left.
DeRozan missed a potential go-ahead layup with less than five seconds to play and a Brewer free throw closed out the scoring. — Reuters
