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James Harden's 59 points leads an absolutely bonkers 159-158 Rockets win
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In only the second-most significant game between a Houston and Washington D.C. team on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards still managed to give fans more than a few reasons to watch.
The Rockets came back from down 12 in the fourth quarter to win by an absolutely gaudy score of 159-158 over the Wizards. Leading the scoring was (predictably) James Harden, whose total of 59 points is actually kind of smaller than you’d expect from a game with nearly 200 total field goal attempts.
It was an absurd game up and down the box score, with Bradley Beal leading the scoring for the Wizards with 46. Six other Wizards, including all four players to appear off the bench, broke into double-digit points. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting, but registered yet another triple-double with 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
How the Rockets’ ridiculous win over the Wizards went down
The Wizards looked on track to win by the end of third quarter. The team led 117-111, easily enough for a regulation game score. And then the two teams had their highest-scoring frame.
Then the Rockets went to work after the Wizards took a 133-121 lead with fewer than eight minutes remaining. Harden scored 16 of the Rockets’ next 23 points with two assists while the Wizards’ offense finally started sputtering.
Close game in DC!
🚀 150 | 🧙♂️ 152
⏰ 1:11 pic.twitter.com/LRZxxJTOzk— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 31, 2019
Harden eventually gave the Rockets the lead with a free throw with 2.4 seconds left, and the Wizards never got a shot off to take the lead back. The Rockets ended up registering a franchise record for points scored with 159, while the Wizards came just short of their own record of 161.
The Wizards did manage to tie an NBA record, though.
The Rockets beat the Wizards tonight 159-158. The Wizards 158 points ties the record all-time for the most points in a loss in regulation.https://t.co/DvkgPkfr6G
Tying the Nuggets in 1990 with a 162-158 loss to the Warriors.— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) October 31, 2019
And there was also the matter of the total of 317 points.
317 points were scored tonight, the 3rd highest combined point total in NBA history in a game that was decided in regulation. Harden had 59. Russ came alive in the 4th
& triple-doubled. Beal had 46. The Wiz bench scored 64. There were 43 3s made. I've never seen anything like it— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) October 31, 2019
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