Harden has 59 points; Curry breaks left hand
James Harden scored 59 points and made 1 of 2 free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to give the Rockets a 159-158 victory against the Wizards on Wednesday night in Washington. Bradley Beal scored 46 points for the Wizards, hitting three throws with 8.1 seconds left to tie it at 158.
It was the most points ever scored (317) in an NBA game that was decided by one point, eclipsing the 311 scored in the Bulls’ 156-155 victory against the Trail Blazers on March 16, 1984.
It was a franchise record for points for the Rockets, and the second-most for the Wizards, who matched the record for most points scored in a regulation loss.
Harden was 18 of 32 from the field, 6 of 14 from three-point range, and made 17 of 18 free throws. He also had nine assists in 37 minutes.
Russell Westbrook had just three points in the first three quarters, then scored 14 in the fourth quarter and finished with his second triple-double of the season. He had 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Harden and Westbrook scored or assisted on 128 of the Rockets’ 159 points.
♦ Warriors star Stephen Curry broke his left hand on a hard fall in the third quarter of the Warriors 121-100 loss to the visiting Suns. The two-time MVP was upended on a drive before landing awkwardly on his hands to brace himself, then the Suns’ Aron Baynes crashed onto Curry’s left hand.
♦ Joel Embiid scored 19 points and got into a brawl with Karl-Anthony Towns that sent both players to the showers early, and the 76ers beat the visiting Timberwolves 117-95 for their fourth straight win.
The Sixers were leading 75-55 midway through the third quarter when Embiid and Towns went at it. The two big men have a history of talking trash to each other. After they got tangled under the basket, Embiid shoved Towns, who answered with a punch that missed as both men fell to the floor. Ben Simmons jumped in and forcefully held Towns down as other players and coaches ran onto the court to separate everyone.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 off the bench and Simmons added 16 for the 76ers.
♦ Domantas Sabonis scored 29 points, Jeremy Lamb added 25 and the visiting Pacers beat the Nets 118-108 for their first victory. The Pacers’ Myles Turner sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return.
♦ Hawks guard Trae Young (sprained right ankle) has been ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Heat. He will be re-evaluated at the beginning of next week to determine if he’ll miss any additional games, starting with Tuesday’s game against the Spurs.
Tagovailoa back at practice
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (sprained right ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis, but coach Nick Saban says that he will be “a game-day decision” when the No. 2 Crimson Tide take on No. 1 LSU on Nov. 9.
♦ Auburn backup quarterback Joey Gatewood has left the team and plans to transfer. ♦ Oregon is ranked No. 1 in The AP preseason women’s basketball poll for the first time in school history. UConn, which is ranked fifth, has been ranked in the top five for 239 consecutive weeks, dating back to January 2007. Tennessee isn’t ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1976, ending a 42-year streak. No. 16 Notre Dame, coming off two trips to the national championship game, is out of the top 10 for the first time since Jan. 17, 2011. DePaul is ranked 18th.