2 Dramatic Wins; Rockets def. the Knicks while the Warriors UPSET the Thunder

[simmytbone]

Hey guys,

Last Night on the NBA on TNT, we saw 2 Dramatic Wins

The Houston Rockets give the New York Knicks their 4th consecutive lost while the Golden State Warriors UPSET the Oklahoma City Thunder and give them 2 straight losses

Here are the stories:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/harden-...4822--nba.html

Harden, Rockets withstand Anthony's 45, top Knicks
By BRIAN MAHONEY (AP Basketball Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) -- James Harden was back in the lineup, Jeremy Lin was back at Madison Square Garden, and that was just enough to help the Houston Rockets withstand Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks.

Harden scored 36 points in his return from a one-game absence, and the Rockets overcame Anthony's 45 points for a 109-106 victory Thursday night.

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 mostly silent night from Dwight Howard, largely outplayed by Andrea Bargnani.

''Jeremy stepped up, James played big and that's what we need,'' Howard said.

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.

Harden, who missed the Rockets' 123-117 overtime loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday with a bruised left foot, scored seven straight Houston points for nine-point lead with 3:51 left. He finished 16 of 18 at the line.

But there was plenty of excitement left, including Anthony just missing a potential four-point play when the Rockets fouled him intentionally behind the arc leading by three with 5 seconds left.

Anthony threw the ball up and it went in, but officials ruled it came after Harden fouled him. The Rockets hadn't fouled in similar situations lately, and both Toronto and Philadelphia made late 3s to force them into overtime.

''It seems like that has happened a lot to us lately. Last-second shots. The first two times you know we didn't foul and they made big 3s. Tonight a foul and they still made a big 3,'' Harden said.

Not quite.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson wanted referees to review the call, though it isn't reviewable, and Anthony wouldn't say if he believed it should have counted.

''My thoughts don't mean anything at this point in time,'' said Anthony, who did express his frustration with some of the calls Harden received. ''It really doesn't matter right now for me to say whether I thought it was a good call or not. So therefore we move on from that.''

Anthony made both free throws - he was trying to miss the second intentionally - but Harden answered with a pair to make it 109-106 with 2.9 seconds to play, and J.R. Smith was well off with a long-distance heave at the buzzer.

Bargnani scored 24 points for the Knicks and played surprisingly strong defense on Howard, who shot 1 of 5. Smith scored 15 points in his second start but shot just 4 of 16 for the Knicks, who also cost themselves when Anthony's intentional foul on Howard away from the ball came with under 2 minutes left, allowing the Rockets to retain possession.

Lin, back to coming off the bench after starting Wednesday in Harden's place, has won both games back at MSG, where he burst onto the worldwide scene two years ago during his memorable run of Linsanity.

Lin came in on another nice roll, scoring 65 points in his previous two games, the best two-game stretch of his career. But the Rockets wasted his 34-point, 12-assist game Wednesday that featured a Rockets record-tying nine 3-pointers.

''We played more as a team today,'' Lin said. ''We really moved the ball, shared the ball. We played really unselfish today and we also did what we needed to do defensively.''

Houston led 28-23 after one and was starting to run away with it when it opened a 49-35 lead during Parsons' run of 11 straight Rockets points. But he didn't score the rest of the half after his driving dunk with 3:10 left, and Anthony and Bargnani combined for three 3-pointers during a 13-2 run to close the half and cut it to 53-52.

''We've let four games in a row at home get away, that's something we hadn't done since I've been here,'' Woodson said. ''That's kind of frustrating from a coach's standpoint, but we're still learning each other and trying to figure it out, and we will eventually.''

NOTES: Center Omer Asik didn't play for the Rockets after the Houston Chronicle reported he had requested a trade. He had been starting along with Howard until coach Kevin McHale scrapped the alignment. McHale said Asik told him he didn't feel well and that he hadn't heard about any rumors. ... Rockets backup forward Greg Smith left with what appeared to be a right leg injury following an awkward landing after playing just 40 seconds in the first quarter.

Meanwhile....

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/iguodal...9618--nba.html

Iguodala lifts Warriors past Thunder, 116-115
By ANTONIO GONZALEZ (AP Sports Writer)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Silence one moment, pandemonium the next.

In 2.3 seconds, Andre Iguodala flipped the script on the Oklahoma City Thunder by hitting the biggest shot of his Golden State Warriors tenure.

Iguodala made a baseline fadeaway as time expired to lift the Warriors to a thrilling 116-115 victory over the Thunder on Thursday night, capping a back-and-forth game between two teams expected to contend for the Western Conference title.

''Those are the moments when your mind is just racing,'' said Iguodala, who finished with 14 points and nine assists. ''When Klay (Thompson) threw the pass, I was thinking I could get to the basket. As soon as the ball hit my hands, my feet were set just to catch, turnaround and shoot - something I worked on a lot throughout my career. The situation was there and everything just worked out.''

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, drawing up a play that gave Iguodala an option to shoot or pass, saying he thought the Thunder would just switch if Stephen Curry received the ball.

Iguodala took the inbounds pass from Thompson and rose up against Thabo Sefolosha for the winning 16-footer, sending the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 into a frenzy. Iguodala sprinted toward half court and was mobbed by teammates.

''That last timeout, it was pretty dark in that huddle,'' Jackson said. ''You look up and you say, 'How did they climb all the way back? How?' You start beating yourself up. That's when you have a moment. They looked at each other and realized there is still time left and we can execute because we work on it every day.''

Golden State trailed for just 23 seconds combined in its first three home games. The Warriors held a lead in each game - against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons - of at least 27 points and won by double digits.

Not on this night.

The game started with an outpouring of offense and energy and never relented over 48 minutes.

There were 16 lead changes, nine ties and countless can't-believe-he-just-made-that shots. Neither team led by more than seven until the Warriors began to pull away late in the third quarter.

Or so it seemed.

Westbrook's 3 set off the Thunder's celebration just seconds before Iguodala's shot. Westbrook kissed his hand and was bumped by teammate Kevin Durant as both flashed grins near the scorer's table.

''It was fun until the last shot,'' Durant said.

''I don't even know what happened,'' Westbrook added. ''I was guarding Curry down in the corner, so I'm not exactly sure.''

Thompson scored 27 points and Curry had 22 points and nine assists for a Warriors team that made 14 of 23 shots from 3-point range.

But it was Iguodala's difficult midrange jumper that stole the spotlight - the very reason Golden State signed the free agent away from Denver this offseason to a four-year, $48 million contract.

''He's exactly who we thought he was,'' Jackson said. ''We're so fortunate to have him on this basketball team.''

Oklahoma City outrebounded Golden State 48 to 31, but couldn't put together enough stops to match a strong offensive effort from its three big stars.

Westbrook finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Serge Ibaka had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Durant had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder lost for the second straight night to a top Western Conference team. Oklahoma City fell at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

The Thunder made six of their first seven from long range, shooting more than 70 percent overall midway through the second quarter under the direction of Durant and Westbrook. But 19 turnovers cost Oklahoma City more than anything, handing the Warriors more opportunities to do what they do best: shoot.

Reserve Draymond Green gave Golden State a 100-86 lead early in the fourth quarter, twisting his way for a layup after taking a sharp pass from Thompson. The Warriors still had to hold off a furious final push from the Thunder to earn by far their biggest win this young season.

''That was a great NBA game,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ''Playoff intensity in November. Great crowd, great atmosphere. They're a great team. Couldn't ask for a better game. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose.''

NOTES: Durant was called for a technical foul in the final seconds of the first half after shoving Warriors C Andrew Bogut. ... Thunder C Kendrick Perkins wasn't with the team for the second straight game after his grandfather died Monday. He was raised by his grandparents in Beaumont, Texas. ... The Thunder fell to 33-8 following a loss since the start of the 2011-12 season, the best record in the NBA during that span. Oklahoma City was 17-4 after a loss last season.

credit: sports.yahoo.com

Charles and Shaq teach Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin how to post-up in this special edition of big man camp on Inside.