Washington: There was a pair of rain delays at an NBA game on Saturday night, a curious happening followed by another strange turn of events: The Houston Rockets built a 25-point lead, lost all of it and then some, then rallied from five down late in the fourth quarter for a 114-107 win over the Washington Wizards.
Long after the stoppages of 35 and 22 minutes because of a leak in the roof, James Hardin tied the game with a driving layup with 2:33 to play, then gave the Rockets the lead again — this time for good — with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining. He finished with 25 points to lead the Rockets, who made only four field goals in the final period yet closed with a 17-5 run.
John Wall led Washington’s comeback and finished with 23 points and 10 assists, Trevor Ariza had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Seraphin — another catalyst in Washington’s surge — had all of his season-high 18 points in the second half. The Wizards lost their fourth straight home game and fell to 2-14 against teams that are currently .500 or better. Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on Saturday to spark New York over Philadelphia 102-92 for the Knicks’ fourth straight win.
The Knicks improved to 14-22 while the 76ers slid to 12-25 with their fourth loss in a row.
New York guard J.R. Smith came off the bench to score 14 points and pass out six assists in his return to the lineup.
Smith was fined $50,000 (Dh183,645) on Wednesday by the NBA for a second incident of trying to untie the shoelaces of a rival player while awaiting a rebound on a free throw attempt.
That prompted Knicks coach Mike Woodson to bench a healthy Smith for the entire game in the Knicks’ 102-92 victory on Thursday over the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.
Spencer Hawes and James Anderson each had 17 points to lead the 76ers, while Thaddeus Young added 15 points.
