NEW YORK _ The game was less than a minute old when James Harden fired up his first shot, a 3-pointer that slid cleanly through the net as Emmanuel Mudiay fouled him, turning it into a four-point play to begin the festivities at Madison Square Garden.
With the Knicks at 10-35 entering the game the allure of wins and losses is long gone, but there was a bit of intrigue on display as the Knicks took on the Houston Rockets. Could Harden, in his record-setting run, add something else to his resume, a Madison Square Garden scoring record.
From that first play Harden steadily poured it on, 19 points in the first quarter, 36 by halftime and 49 by the end of the third quarter. When it was over, it was with his defense that Harden matched a Garden record, stealing the ball from Noah Vonleh and dunking with 3.9 seconds left to score his 61st point, tying Kobe Bryant for the most points scored by a Knicks opponent at the Garden, and securing a 114-110 win for the Rockets.
For the Knicks it was their seventh straight loss and 20th in the last 22.
After Knicks coach David Fizdale was ejected late in the fourth it was the Rockets who seemed to fall apart. Allonzo Trier hit a pair from the line to pull the Knicks within one _ and when Eric Gordon flipped the inbounds pass for P.J. Tucker, Tucker inexplicably moved out of the way. Vonleh picked up the loose ball and dropped in a layup for a one-point Knicks lead with 34.9 seconds remaining. Harden drew a foul on Tim Hardaway Jr. and drained a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds left to push Houston back in front, 109-108.
Trier scored again, this time driving through the porous Rockets defense. But as the Rockets came upcourt, this time they didn't put the ball in Harden's hands. Gordon swished a 3-pointer for a 112-110 lead.
Harden was in control much of the night _ as he has been in a historic run. This marked the 21st straight game in which he has scored at least 30 points _ the fourth longest streak in NBA history. But as he finally slowed down in the fourth quarter the Knicks came back. When Mitchell Robinson, isolated up top against Harden, blocked a 3-point attempt, Trier converted a three-point play on the other end to cut what had been a 10-point deficit to just two. But Harden then took Robinson to the rim, converting a layup and drawing a foul for a three-point play with 1:38 remaining.
He then went to the line for two more, giving him 56 points _ topping Michael Jordan's second highest point total by an opponent at the Garden. He added another as Fizdale was ejected with a second technical, screaming at rookie official Natalie Sago. The three free throws gave him 57, trailing only Bryant's 61.
"This guy, he is a great basketball player," Knicks coach David Fizdale said. "I can't tell you exactly that formula (to stop him). All I know is it takes five guys to really try to impact him. And the thing that he's great at, he moves the ball. He's a top assist guy. He's a guy that makes plays for his teammates. So you can't just take him out. You've also got to be aware and respect the guys around him."
For much of the night it was Harden alone versus the Knicks with the Rockets playing still without injured starters Chris Paul and Clint Capela. The Knicks tried to match the Rockets basket for basket _ or more accurately, match Harden. Harden reached 45 points before he got his first assist and then he began to make the Knicks pay for every double team, tossing long lobs to Kenneth Faried and cross-court passes to open 3-point shooters.
The Knicks found offense in a number of options with Hardaway scoring 21, Trier adding a career-high 31 off the bench and when Harden got a breather at the start of the fourth quarter the Knicks closed the gap to 92-86 on back to back 3-point field goals by Damyean Dotson. But D'Antoni called time and inserted Harden back into the lineup with 8:52 remaining.
Dotson hit a pair from the line after Harden turned the ball over in a double team to close the gap to four and harden misfired on back to back 3-point attempts. Trier then scored on an acrobatic drive, cutting the deficit to 92-90. But Trier lost the ball in the lane and the Rockets fired ahead to Gordon for a 3-pointer and a five-point lead.
