NBA 2019-20: James Harden's 50-point night helps Houston Rockets edge Washington Wizards in a high scoring thriller
A James Harden inspired Houston Rockets side narrowly beat the Washington Wizards 159-158 in the latter's first home game of the season.
The Wizards scored the most points in a single game since 1990 and fans were certainly on their feet in the Capital One Arena. The Wizards were trailing a few times, before leading in the third and fourth quarter by almost 10 points. The Rockets came back to tie the game, before point guard James Harden was supposedly fouled on the last play. The game could have been won by the Wizards, or tied for an overtime play. With that being said, here is an analysis of the game.
Harden scores 59 points
Defense was certainly not a highlight of this game as both sides scored heavily. While there were flashes of blocks by the Wizards, certainly not much defense was done by the Rockets. Either way, the Wizards allowed James Harden to score 59 points in the win.
Harden went 18-32 FG, 17-18 FT, and 6-14 3PT. He also racked up three rebounds and nine assists. Based on the stats, Harden scored a good number of points through fouls, which is a common place for Harden to be.
Beal is back, is Rui a rookie?
Shooting guard Bradley Beal finally played as the player we all know. Beal scored 46 points, the most in the team and went 14-20 FG, 11-12 FT, and 7-12 3 PT. Of course it isn't expected of Beal to score this many points every game but this efficiency is what he should aspire towards.
Rui Hachimura impressed yet again. The rookie looked like a veteran who has been in the league for years in Wednesday night's game. Hachimura scored 23 points and went 9-15 FG, 2-2 FT, and 3-3 3PT. Keep in mind, Hachimura never scored a 3-pointer in college and he went 3-3 against the Rockets. Hachimura is becoming a huge star with great potential and pairing him with a veteran like Beal and Wall will only continue his development.
Wizards bench was on fire
Davis Bertans, Isaiah Thomas, Troy Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner all scored in double digits tonight, helping the Wizards make it a high scoring game. Brown Jr. made his debut after a calf-strain, showing no signs of rust and scoring 14 points while going 5-7 FG, 2-2 FT, and 2-4 3PT. Bertans was yet again on fire, scoring 21 points and going 7-10 FG and 6-9 3PT, sinking several contested three point shots that otherwise looked like miracles.
What's next?
The Wizards play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at home. Tip-off is at 8:00 PM ET.