The Houston Rockets in the Mike D’Antoni-James Harden era have always been ahead of the curve in terms of leveraging the value of the three-point shot, but they took it to a whole other level on Wednesday night during their overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The game itself had plenty of drama, as Spencer Dinwiddie came alive late in the fourth quarter with a three-point barrage of his own to send the game to overtime, where the Nets eventually won, 145-142. And he wasn’t the only one who was hoisting it up from downtown in this contest.
We’ve known for some time that the long-ball revolution has been barreling toward its logical extreme, and the Rockets and Nets ventured ever closer to its outer limits as the two teams set an NBA record with an astounding 106 combined attempts from three-point range.
NBA-record 106 three point attempts in the Rockets-Nets game tonight. The Rockets took 70, shattering their own record of 61. SEVENTY.
— Top Level Sports (@TopLevelSports) January 17, 2019
The Rockets alone attempted 70 threes tonight, shattering their own previous record of 61 set in December of 2016. Harden by himself attempted 19 threes, only making five of them, as he finished with 58 points for the night, his second-straight 50-point outing after a 57-point performance against Memphis earlier this week.
But those two performances also come with some odd caveats that might not be a good omen for the Rockets in the long-term.
James Harden has scored 57 or more points in 2 consecutive games.
ZERO of his made shots in those two games were assisted.
Not a single one— Mike Zavagno (@MZavagno11) January 17, 2019
Houston is still preparing to reintegrate Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, while losing Clint Capela for at least a month. Despite their recent surge, there are plenty of obstacles ahead as we approach the midway point of the season.
