Houston Rockets pair James Harden and Russell Westbrook deny Boston Celtics ‘miracle’ three

When James Harden is having an off night, Russell Westbrook will come to play as the MVP team up claimed NBA history.

The Boston Celtics have fallen just short of a miracle at home in TD Garden, locking up the match with a buzzer-beating three pointer to lock the scores up at 104-all at the end of four quarters.

The match was pushed to OT as Jayson Tatum had two free throws with 5.1 seconds left down by three points.

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He missed the first one with the second intentionally thrown into the rim and bounced back.

As the mad scramble for the ball ensued, it popped out into the hands of Jaylen Brown who nailed the triple.

Commentator Mark Jones yelled “Miracle here at TD”.

JAYLEN SENDS IT TO OT!!! pic.twitter.com/E5SMOss32I

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 1, 2020

But it seems a miracle wasn’t enough.

In overtime, there were five lead changes, but the Rockets outscored the Celtics 7-6 to claim the 111-110 victory.

The Celtics’ Daniel Theis appeared to have a chance to win the game but a late shot handed the road victory to the Rockets.

It was almost the miracle moment, but it was all in vain.

But it came at a bit of a cost with James Harden only able to muster 21 points, three rebounds and eight assists after coming down with a sprained wrist just before halftime.

The mercurial scorer was kept quiet — at least from his lofty standards — hitting only three from 12 from the field in the final 29 minutes and Harden said he was happy for Russell Westbrook to take over.

Westbrook hit 41 points, eight rebounds and five assists as he led the Rockets to the surprise win.

“This is his first year as a Rocket. It’s going to take some time and he’s finally there,” Harden said. “You can have the confidence but not the ability. But he has both and that’s what makes him so special.”

Harden admitted he just couldn’t shoot on the night but his 21 points also sealed an incredible 58-year first.

Westbrook scored at least 20 points for the 30th straight game, joining Harden, who had a 34-game streak of 20+ points this season.

According to ESPN, they are the first teammates to have 20-points in 30 or more games in a row since Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in 1961-62.

Harden and Westbrook, the NBA’s new superstar duo.

Even the Celtics lamented the rise of the Westbrook in Houston.

“We had a lot of attention on James Harden and we forgot about the other MVP over there,” Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said.

Robert Covington added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who have won six straight and 10 of their last 12 while beating Boston five times in a row.

Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 13 rebounds, Marcus Smart scored 26 points and Brown had 22 for the Celtics.

The Celtics had won 14 of their previous 17 games and could have moved into a tie with Toronto atop the Atlantic Division with a win.

“I thought the right team won,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I thought they were better than us – not by much, but at least by one.”

While fans like the nice guy Celtics, they were wondering if it was too much after a loss.

It's really hard to dislike the Celtics. They're good, but all incredibly professional. To a very frustrating extent.https://t.co/qPFjoJ7GcZ

— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) March 1, 2020

— with AP