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The New York Knicks nearly pulled off the upset against James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. They went on to fall 114-110 while Harden poured in 61 points in an incredible effort. While the play of the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player took center stage, Knicks coach David Fizdale got his moment in the spotlight also. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the best of reasons.
Fizdale was visibly upset by some of the officiating in the game and after getting his first technical, couldn’t contain himself during the final stretch of the game. With just over one minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Fizdale lost his cool and went off at the referee, as The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov showed.
It seems the situation started with another call that was made earlier. And as House of Highlights shows, the official gave Harden a foul call on a 3-point attempt which left Fizdale up in arms.
It’s not surprising to see his frustration hit a peak level after what Fizdale believed to be a late error in a close game, especially after watching his reaction to a previous incident. While the Knicks went on to lose this game, it was Harden’s play that grabbed the attention of the NBA world.
James Harden’s Dominant Night
The Rockets’ win at Madison Square Garden was much closer than Harden and company surely would have liked, but the guard put up an unreal stat line. His 61 points were tied for the most by a visitor at the current Madison Square Garden, as ESPN Stats & Info revealed.
Beyond the 61 points, as noted above Harden also added on 15 rebounds and tallied five steals with four assists. He knocked down 17-of-38 attempts from the field and 22-of-25 from the free throw line while outscoring the Knicks entire starting unit in the process. This night just continues the unreal tear Harden has been on as of late.
After Chris Paul’s injury back on December 20, Harden upped his game in a big way. Through the month of January thus far (11 games), he’s averaged 45.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.
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