26 and counting
NBA record for 3-pointers set, led by Harden’s six, in 5th straight win
The record the Rockets always thought should be theirs, that Eric Gordon had pledged they would own, was in sight long before coaches told the Rockets reserves that it was within reach, before the chant “One more 3, one more 3” echoed in Toyota Center.
If there was any sure thing, it would be the Rockets would keep shooting 3s, one after another after another, with each fourth-quarter 3-pointer not only blowing the game open, but bringing them closer to a place in the NBA record book.
As if to take another key step toward what they had been and expected to be, the Rockets cranked up their 3-point shooting, blasting the Washington Wizards,136-118 on Wednesday, then clearing their bench to take care of unfinished business.
The Rockets, the team that in three of the previous four seasons set records for taking and making NBA records for 3-pointers, finally took the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game, hitting 26 (on 55 attempts) to break the mark set by the Cavaliers against the Hawks in March 2017.
“Man, it was fun,” said guard Chris Paul, who put in five of the 3s. “It wasn’t disrespect to Washington. It was one of those things, you don’t get the opportu-
nity often. To do it with our team — unless it gets broken tomorrow — is something we’ll remember.”
The Rockets needed plenty of scoring to take their fifth consecutive victory, giving them their longest winning streak of the season. When they hit the Wizards with one final burst in the middle of the fourth quarter, they took the lead to 26 and cleared the bench with 4:15 remaining to chase the record.
Rookie forward Gary Clark tied the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game when he hit from 29 feet, giving the Rockets 25 3s with 2:42 remaining.
By then, the Rockets were shooting for the record, but missed their next three attempts.
Finally, with 31.1 seconds left and the Rockets down to their last shot, Michael Carter-Williams nailed his 3 from 28 feet, delighting the crowd that had wanted it ever since the benches were cleared early.
“My teammates were screaming, ‘Shoot it! Shoot it!” Carter-Williams said. “You’re just out there trying to make the last one. I had a good, clean look. I just tried to knock it down. We knew if we didn’t at least attempt it, we’d have heard it in the locker room. It was all in good fun.”
The Rockets’ night, however, might have been set up by the previous game against the Wizards when James Harden scored 54 points and Gordon added 36, the secondmost points scored by a backcourt in NBA history. That led the Wizards to trap the ball out of Harden’s hands and left shooters open.
“Every night we play that first quarter and see how they play that ball screen,” Paul said. “They were trapping me for a while. We hit Clint (Capela) or we hit Tuck (P.J. Tucker) and let them make decisions. When we hit shots like that, we’re tough to stop. Any time you put two on the ball, there’s going to be four-on-three somewhere.”
The Wizards shifted to switching on screens in the second half, but by then, the Rockets shooters were rolling, with eight players sinking 3s, led by Harden’s six on his way to 35 points on 18 shots.
Harden has averaged 41 points in his past four games. But Wednesday, he got plenty of help.
“I looked up and they had 25 3s out of 50,” Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. “That's ridiculous in itself. Then the crowd kept saying '3, 3, 3.' They shot the (…) out of it.”
In a season that has been trying or worse from the start, the Rockets had a night to enjoy themselves. That might be secondary to the turnaround, but it was fun.
“It’s cool,” Paul said. “It’s fun, but at the end of the day, we got the win. Energy is up. We say it all the time, everything is better when you win.”
Still, before he left the building, the player who predicted the record would fall made a new one.
“There’s going to be a game we get 30,” Gordon said. “Thirty 3s made. I don’t know if it will be this year, next year. But we’ll hit 30.”
After Wednesday, who would argue with him.