HOUSTON _ The Nets couldn't contain James Harden any better than the rest of the NBA, allowing him to top the 30-point mark for the 18th straight game on his way to 58 total. But Spencer Dinwiddie did his level best to keep pace with Harden down the stretch, hitting three straight 3-pointers at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime, where Dinwiddie's 3-point play with 28 seconds left gave the Nets the lead for good in a thrilling 145-142 overtime upset that put their record at .500 (23-23) and agave them a 15-5 mark over the past 20 games.
Harden passed to an open Austin Rivers, who missed a 3 before the Nets' Joe Harris was fouled and made both for a 145-142 advantage. The Rockets' Gerald Green then missed another 3 at the buzzer.
Harden hit a 3-pointer near the end of the third period to reach 31 points for the game in the midst of a stretch when he scored every point in an 11-0 Rockets run. He raised his hands skyward as the crowd cheered his accomplishment. He now stands two games short of Wilt Chamberlain's feat of 20 straight games with at least 30 points, which hasn't been equaled since 1964.
The Rockets (25-19) also got 20 from Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker, and the Rockets took an NBA-record 70 3-point attempts. The Nets had seven players score in double figures topped by 33 from Dinwiddie, 22 by DeMarre Carroll, 21 from Treveon Graham and Jarrett Allen with 20 and 24 rebounds.
Dinwiddie hit a 3 with 27 seconds left that cut a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to 128-125 and then fouled Harden. He made the first foul shot, his 16th straight, then missed for the first time. Dinwiddie then buried another 3 with 20 seconds left to make it a one-point game. The Nets fouled P.J. Tucker with 15.2 seconds to go, and he missed both but would you believe Harden got the rebound. He made both for a 131-128 lead.
But Dinwiddie had more magic left, nailing his third straight 3 to tie the game at 131. When Harden missed a 3 at the buzzer, the teams headed to overtime. The Rockets had a seven-point OT lead, but the Nets scored the final 10 points of the game.
When reigning NBA MVP Harden took the court against the Nets, he was coming off a game in which he scored 36 in the first half alone on his way to 57 in a victory over Memphis. Over his 17-game streak, Harden was averaging 41.3 points. For the entire season, Harden was leading the NBA with 34.8 points per game, fourth in assists at 8.6 and fourth in steals at 2.05 and he was averaging 6.3 rebounds. The only previous player ever to average at least 30 points, 8.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals was Michael Jordan in 1988-89.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson went to a zone defense midway through the first quarter with good results as they put together a 26-9 run that included five 3-pointers on their way to building a 34-19 lead. But Atkinson's fears of the Rockets' other 3-point shooters getting hot were realized as Eric Gordon scored eight points in an 11-0 run to end the opening period and cut the Rockets' deficit to 34-30.
In the second quarter, the Rockets would regain the lead, but a 12-2 Nets spurt that included five points from Graham pushed their lead back to 10, and they finished the half on top, 62-54. By that time, Harden had 14, but the Rockets were shooting 40.8 percent after taking 35 of their 49 overall shots from 3-point range. Harden scored 22 points in the third quarter to seemingly put the Rockets in control, but that was before Dinwiddie started firing on all cylinders.
