Knicks unfortunate to not pick up second road win in two nights.
There were seven games on the NBA schedule on Friday night, and they didn’t disappoint with James Harden scoring 37 points to help the Houston Rockets to a win over the New York Knicks.
It was a messy conclusion to the game, with Knicks point guard Beno Udrih having the opportunity to force the game into overtime, but his effort spun in and out of the hoop to hand the hosts the win which ended a two-game losing streak.
Harden revealed that they were relieved to pick up a much needed victory, but was impressed with the way his team-mates ground out the result.
“It’s a huge sigh of relief,” Harden said, according to ESPN. “We found a way. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but at the end of the night a win is all that matters.”
Iman Shumpert followed up his career-best night in San Antonio with another 26 points in Houston, going 6-for-6 from beyond the arc, while Carmelo Anthony added 25 points.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for the Knicks who fall to 10-22 for the season despite some signs of improvement, while the Rockets move to 22-13.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Clippers lost point guard Chris Paul to a shoulder injury which will sideline him for between three to five weeks during the win over the Dallas Mavericks.
DeAndre Jordan stepped up to score a career-high 25 points to match that put up by Blake Griffin while the former also grabbed 18 rebounds, as the Clippers rallied without their floor general.
There was late drama in Atlanta too as the Golden State Warriors made it eight consecutive wins with their last-gasp victory over the Hawks.
Andre Iguodala hit a buzzer-beating three to seal it, while David Lee scored 23 points as the Warriors sneaked a 101-100 win.
“Every part of that play worked because everybody ran like they were going to get the ball,” Iguodala told reporters. “The defense had to stay honest and pick their poison.”
Stephen Curry added 22 points with nine assists and Klay Thompson had 21 points as Golden State recovered from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge another thriller.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors are also putting together a winning streak as they made it five in a row on Friday night against the Washington Wizards.
The Raptors appear to be relishing the requirement to win as a team following the trade deal involving Rudy Gay with the Sacramento Kings, and they put on another assists show on Friday.
Kyle Lowry had 19 points and 11 assists while DeMar DeRozan had 20 points to lead Toronto to victory which moves them to 16-15 for the season and further ahead in the Atlantic Division.
NBA Results:
Toronto Raptors 101-88 Washington Wizards
Golden State Warriors 101-100 Atlanta Hawks
New Orleans Pelicans 95-92 Boston Celtics
New York Knicks 100-102 Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers 119-112 Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies 108-111 Denver Nuggets
Utah Jazz 99-110 Los Angeles Lakers
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