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HOUSTON – In a game decided at half-time, Houston's prolific 3-point shots added some excitement in the last few minutes.
James Harden scored 30 points in three quarters as the Rockets broke their NBA record by scoring 27 points at 3 points in a 149-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Eric Gordon led the 3-point squad with a career high of eight, Harden added five, PJ Tucker had four, and Danuel House three.
Gary Clark tied the record with just over three minutes to play and Houston missed the next four before Austin Rivers beat him with 1:09 to go. He squatted a little and pointed to the Phoenix bench after the match as the fans screamed, "Threeeeeeee!"
"There was no other choice", Rivers helpless. "The ball was coming to me."
He said that he had not realized that they were about to break the record until he heard the crowd shouting at them to take over 3.
"I think it made things interesting, especially towards the end," said Rivers. "That pushed guys to play for something else … When you're in the lead, like 35, 40 points, that's a lot of points."
Houston has made twice 26 this season, the last time Tuesday in Sacramento.
The Rockets had a 10-point lead after one and a second quarter of 43 points allowed them to reach the top of the season with 77 points in the first half to take a 30-point lead at halftime.
Houston led by 15 with just over four minutes to the second before finishing the quarter with a 21-6 push to comfort the lead. Harden scored 10 points during that period and Gordon and Tucker added 3 points to help the Rockets turn the Rockets into an early eruption.
Harden, who had 13 rebounds and nine badists, scored 16 points in the third quarter, wearing a 3-pointer just before the bell, giving Houston a 40-point advantage at the entrance. fourth quarter. Harden fired the shot and followed it for a few seconds before heading for the bench – where he would stay for the rest of the night with the match in hand.
It was the second time in a row that Harden missed the fourth quarter, giving the league's first scorer, who averages 37 minutes per game, a well-deserved rest in the playoffs.
Chris Paul was delighted that the Rockets had reached their level, despite one of the worst teams in the league.
"We understand that we are playing for something and we are all trying to stay alert," he said.
Assistant head coach Jeff Bzdelik coached the Rockets for the second game in a row. Coach Mike D's Antoni came out with an intestinal flu. It is unclear whether D'Antoni will be in good health in time to travel with the team to Oklahoma City for the Tuesday night game.
Harden was not the only one to sit in the last period, with all Houston starters getting a little break in this unhinged match.
Jamal Crawford had 27 points on the Suns bench with rising stars Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre for the season with injuries.
"As a young team we have a lot to learn … we did not necessarily play smart," said Phoenix coach Igor Stefan Kokoskov.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Harden has scored at least 20 points in 56 consecutive games. … The Rockets have won at least 20 goals in six of their last 12 games and 18 times this season. … Clint Capela added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
They said it
Paul about the team's mentality when Harden doubles his team: "I understand, he scores a lot of points, so you want to double it, but that means you're leaving me, Gordy, Tuck, all wide open . "
FOLLOWING
Suns: Play the final of the season in Dallas Tuesday night.
Rockets: Finish the regular season in Oklahoma City Tuesday night.
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