LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) – James Harden scored 49 issues and the Houston Rockets outperformed the Dallas Mavericks 153-149 on Friday night in their first game in the NBA bubble.
Harden made 1 of 2 shots on the loose before Trey Burke made a three-pointer to get the Mavericks in the 3 with about 15 seconds to play ot. Harden made 1 of two shots loose after that, Burke missed a 3 and Harden received the rebound to secure the win.
Dallas led through 3 before Harden made the first of two shots, and Robert Covington missed the 3.3-second tie to play in regulation time. Luka Doncic missed a shot at the bell to send him on overtime.
Kristaps Porzingis had 39 problems and 16 rebounds for Dallas, and Doncic had a triple double with 28 problems, thirteen rebounds and 10 assists.
Porzingis put the Mavericks in the previous 4 position in overtime. Houston scored the next 8 points, with Harden’s last five, to take a 147-143 lead.
Porzingis had a three-point play, Robert Covington added a three-pointer after he missed his first 8 to increase Houston’s lead to four.
Harden, who had 23 problems in the first quarter, beat Calvin Murphy to become the second-leading scorer in franchise history, Hakeem Olajuwon.
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Harden made two shots with one minute left in the fourth to reduce the lead to four, however, Maxi Kleber made a three-pointer to the end to extend the lead to 138-131.
Harden cut the lead a few seconds later with a 3 pointer with 40 seconds to the end.
Covington hosted the Rockets in two problems with two loose pitches. The Rockets were forced to dedicate a foul and Seth Curry made 1 of two shots on the loose to leave Dallas leading 139-136 with 5.2 seconds remaining.
Russell Westbrook added 31 problems for the Rockets after arriving in Florida due to a positive coronavirus test.
The teams combined for the first-year nba’s tops in the NBA this season, with Dallas leading 85-75 to fit their franchise record.
The Rockets had a 7-0 run, with 4 problems from Westbrook, to the deficit beaten in the 3rd quarter. But Dallas finished third with a 6-2 run to lead 119-108 in the fourth quarter.
TIPS: Rockets: Eric Gordon sat with a sprained left ankle and is expected to be out for about 10 days. Array… Ben McLemore committed a foul about 10 minutes from the end.
Mavericks – Burke scored 31 problems at the bank and fired 8 out of 10 of three problems. Array.. Dorian Finney-Smith committed a foul in the last quarter.
RELATED: The Rockets face the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. The Mavericks will face the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.