Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden was his usual ghostly self on defense Monday night, and Amar’e Stoudemire thinks other supernatural powers helped Harden get his game-high 36 points.
STAT blasted the refs, accusing them of awarding Harden freebies he didn’t earn, in the Rockets’ 91-86 win.
The Bearded One scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to snuff out the visiting New York Knicks.
Per the NY Post:
In a clear slap at the officiating, Stoudemire said: “It was like an angel came down and started calling calls for him. Down the stretch, I don’t see how he was getting those foul calls.”
Harden was 11-of-22 from the field and 7-of-7 from the line. He also had six assists, three steals, six rebounds and five turnovers. […] “I just knew I had to be aggressive,’’ said Harden, who scored five straight points — a 3-pointer and two free throws — to break a 82-82 tie with 3:40 left.
Stoudemire still took time to praise Harden, who heard “M-V-P’’ chants down the stretch as he shot free throws to seal the win. […] “James hit a couple of big shots and he pretty much carried their team tonight,” Stoudemire said. “The rest of the guys we pretty much had under control.”