The Boston Celtics just pulled off the biggest comeback victory in the NBA this season with a 99-98 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Boston trailed by as many as 26 points in the third quarter, and didn’t get their first lead until Al Horford’s jump hook with 3.9 seconds left. And the insane final seconds included Boston’s Marcus Smart drawing two offensive fouls on Houston star James Harden on inbounds plays.
James Harden when defended by Marcus Smart tonight:
0-7 FG
4 turnovers(includes both Harden turnovers in the final 7 seconds)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 29, 2017
Celtics limited Rockets to 19.4 percent shooting (6-of-31) over the final 19 minutes of the game. That's absurd.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) December 29, 2017
12 times the Celtics have trailed by 12+ this year.
That was their 8th win.
And the most unfathomable of a pretty unfathomable year. pic.twitter.com/OFrxL42a7o
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) December 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/946586039379828736
https://twitter.com/SheaSerrano/status/946590612412878850
James Harden leans gently on Marcus Smart, who immediately dematerializes like Obi-Wan Kenobi and leaves an empty uniform, socks, and sneakers on the court.
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) December 29, 2017
The finish capped off a bizarre night for Harden; he finished with 34 points and 10 assists, but on 7-of-27 shooting from the field and with eight turnovers.
And after starting a ridiculous 25-4, the Rockets have now lost four straight games and are two games behind the Warriors for the No. 1 seed in the West. The Celtics (29-10) now have a three-game lead over the Cavs and Raptors for the top seed in the East.
UPDATE: James Harden went off about the officials after the game.
Harden: “First of all, I wonder how you only have two officials on a national TV game. That’s the first question. But, a lot of grabbing, a lot of holding. How else am I supposed to get open? The guy has two arms wrapped around my whole body."
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 29, 2017
Harden: "You can’t have two officials in a professional game. There were a lot of no-calls that needed to be called because that changes the dynamic of the game. It’s a professional game, national TV. It can’t happen.”
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 29, 2017
[TNT]
