New York: Houston’s James Harden scored 36 points in his return to the lineup, guiding the Rockets to a 109-106 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday, and giving teammate Jeremy Lin another winning night at Madison Square Garden.
In the day’s other game, Golden State’s Andre Iguodala sank a baseline jump shot as time expired to give the Warriors a 116-115 win over Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony had the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season and grabbed 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Knicks in their fourth straight home loss.
Chandler Parsons added 22 points and Lin had 21 for the Rockets, who beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time even on a quiet night from Dwight Howard, largely outplayed by Andrea Bargnani.
Howard had just seven points with his 15 rebounds, though he did make a pair of free throws with 1:15 left that gave Houston a five-point lead.
In Oakland, Iguodala made the clutch shot that gave the Warriors a thrilling win.
Russell Westbrook’s 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining put the Thunder ahead after they trailed by 14 points early in the fourth quarter. Warriors coach Mark Jackson called a timeout to regroup, and power forward David Lee inbounded the ball from near half court.
Iguodala caught the ball and extended over Thabo Sefolosha for the winning shot, sending the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 into a frenzy. He sprinted toward half court and was mobbed by teammates.
