Harden erupts for 59 points in high-scorer

JAMES Harden made the winning free throw with two seconds left, capping a 59-point performance as the Houston Rockets outgunned the Washington Wizards 159-158 in one of the highest scoring games in NBA history.

Harden shot 18-of-32 from the field, made all but one of his 18 free throws, and drained six three pointers as the Rockets overcame a 46-point night from Bradley Beal.

“I work hard every single day. I fall in love with it, mastering the game,” Harden said. “You can’t expect to be great if you don’t put the work in.

“You might be doing everything right and things don’t always work out your way. You got to keep pushing.”

The teams combined to score 317 points, the most ever in an NBA game which was decided by a single point. It was just the third game in the past 25 years in which each team scored at least 150 points.

The previous record for combined points in a game decided by just a single point was 311 between the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers in 1984.

Russell Westbrook overcame a slow start to finish with his second triple-double of the season with 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Clint Capela tallied 21 for the Rockets, who improved to 3-1 on the season.

Elsewhere, Jo el Embiid scored 19 points before being ejected because of a third quarter fight as the Philadelphia 76ers won their fourth straight game to start the season by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-95.

Embiid was sent to the showers along with Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns after the two got into a tussle that also included players and some coaches on Wednesday.

After they exchanged words, the two big men wrestled each other to the ground as teammates and coaches, including 76ers head coach Brett Brown, charged into the fray to try and separate the combatants.

At one point Sixers Ben Simmons put a choke hold on Towns, who ended up at the bottom of the pile.

Embiid and Towns were ejected. Embiid walked over to the sidelines and jokingly shadowboxed in front of the Sixers bench before being escorted to the locker room.

Embiid and Towns have a history of talking trash on the court and through hrough social media and that continued after the contest. ontest.

Embiid tweeted later that Towns’ mother gave ve him the finger as h e was b e i n g e s c o r t e d out of the arena and into to the tunnel el under the e seats.

“G r e a t team win!!! I was raised ed around lions ons and a c a t pulled on n me tonight . . . I got his mom giving me middle f i ng e r s. That’s som some SERIOUS REAL ESTAT ESTATE,” Embiid wrote on Twitte Twitter.

The victory victor leaves the 76ers as one of tw two unbeaten NBA teams along with the 3-0 San Antonio Spu Spurs. The Timberwolves suffer suffered their first loss falling to 3-1.

Canadian Andrew Wiggins scored 19 po points and Towns finished with 13 points for the Timberwolve Timberwolves.

Also, Kemba Kemb Walker delivered his second str straight 32 point performance as the t new-look Boston Ce Celtics rallied from a huge first half deficit to beat the Milwaukee Buck Bucks 116-105.