Last night’s Houston-San Antonio game, a 135-133 double overtime win for the Spurs, was like watching a computer simulation with every James Harden-Russell Westbrook tendency cranked to the highest degree.
First off: James Harden had a fourth-quarter dunk, GIFed above, that the refs disallowed, even after a long and tedious review. It ended up mattering, too, because the Spurs, down 15 at that point, went nuts and tied the game, sending it to overtime.
Secondly: This first-quarter exchange between a forlorn heckler and Harden is perfect.
Thirdly: Lonnie Walker IV, whose hair you just have to see to believe, was the one who ignited the Spurs’ fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the final eight points of the game. Plus, Jakob Poeltl (YA·KOB PUR·TUL) blocked Harden’s regulation game-winning attempt and his overtime game-winning attempt.
Now, the stats:
Harden finished with 50 points, despite shooting 11-for-38 from the field and 4-for-20 from 3. (His career-high for 3s attempted in a game is 23.)
His 28.9 shooting percentage is the worst-ever in a 50-point performance.
The rest of his points came from his 24-for-24 mark at the free throw line, a regular season record for most takes without a miss. (Dirk went 24-24 in the 2011 Western Conference Finals.)
Russell Westbrook went 7-for-30 from the field, combining with his pal to finish the game 18-for-68.
Westbrook finished with 19 points, becoming the sixth player since 1976 to shoot 30 times and score less than 20 points. (H/T Bill Simmons)
The piece-de-resistance: The Rockets are “hopeful” the NBA will retroactively award Harden his dunk and give Houston the regulation victory, or replay the final 7:50 of the game.
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