Harden scores 58 but can’t save Rockets
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Brooklyn Nets spoiled James Harden’s 58point night with a 145-142 victory over the host Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Harden had his second consecutivet season high after scoring 57 in a victory over Memphis Monday night, but was only 5 of 19 from 3-point range. The Rockets shot an NBA-record 70 3-pointers, making just 23.
Harden has scored at least 30 points in 18 consecutive games, extending the record for most such games since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976-77, and has reached 40 in nine of the past 12. He was 16 of 34 overall from the field, made 21 of 23 free throws.
Dinwiddie forced overtime, making three 3-pointers in the last 30 seconds of regulation. In the extra period, he hit the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds left.
Knicks
Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization. Sabah newspaper said the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office also had prepared an extradition request for the NBA player. Officials at the prosecutor’s office could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Kanter, who didn’t go with the Knicks this week for their game in London because he feared he could be killed over his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responded on Twitter that the Turkish government could not present “any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing.” “I don’t even have a parking ticket in the U.S.,” he wrote Wednesday. Kanter has been an outspoken critic of Erdogan, and his Turkish passport was revoked in 2017. This time, Sabah says prosecutors are seeking an Interpol “Red Notice” citing Kanter’s ties to exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for a failed coup in 2016, and accusing him of providing financial support to his group. Kanter said he feared assassination if he left the U.S. or Canada when he announced last week that he wouldn’t travel with the Knicks, who play the Washington Wizards Thursday at The O2 Arena.
Warriors
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 31 points as the Golden State Warriors, propelled by an NBA-record, 51-point first quarter, regained the top spot in the Western Conference by routing the Denver Nuggets, 142-111, late Tuesday night. Golden State cruised to a fifth consecutive victory to move a half-game in front of the Nuggets, who had their 12game home winning streak snapped. The showdown between the top two teams in the conference proved a little too big for the Nuggets, with Curry and Company putting on a shooting exhibition all night long. The clinic began early with the Warriors erupting for 51 points in the opening quarter, breaking the old mark of 50 held by several teams.