P.J. Tucker Bizarrely Refused To Pick Up An Inbounds Pass, Gifting The Knicks A Crucial Late Layup

James Harden continued his unbelievable scoring streak at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night with a 61-point masterpiece, but it was a game filled with plenty of high drama in the closing minutes, with clutch shots on both sides and a bizarre blunder that nearly upended the Rockets’ victory.

With just under a minute remaining, the Rockets put rookie Allonzo Trier at the free-throw line, where he knocked down three clutch freebies to pull the Knicks within three at 107-104.

But on the ensuing inbounds play, P.J. Tucker had a momentary lapse of judgment when he for unknown reasons refused to take the pass, allowing Noah Vonleh to steal it and lay it in to cut the lead to one.

A sequence of clutch shots on both sides followed, with Trier getting into the lane for a nearly wide-open layup, followed by a defensive miscue that resulted in an Eric Gordon three-pointer on the other end. The Knicks had the final possession trailing 112-110 with a chance to win, but Harden was able to come up with the steal and hammer it home on the break to seal a wild victory.

Otherwise, it would’ve been quite a way to squander a game, and Tucker might never have heard the end of that one. Fortunately for him, Harden was able to come up with the clutch steal in the closing seconds to get Houston a W.