James Harden Offensive Fouls Hand Kyrie Irving, Celtics Comeback Win vs. Rockets

The Boston Celtics led for roughly four seconds in the entire game but came away with a dramatic victory Thursday at TD Garden.

James Harden was called for two offensive fouls in the final 10 seconds, the first giving Al Horford the chance at the go-ahead basket with 3.7 seconds left. Boston held on to overcome a 24-point halftime deficit and beat the Houston Rockets 99-98.

Here's a look at the final few plays:

Kyrie Irving's 26 points led the way for the Celtics, who improved to 29-10 and maintained the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.

Harden finished with 34 points and 10 assists, but he couldn't prevent Houston from losing its fourth game in a row—third without the injured Chris Paul (leg). The team fell to 25-8 in the process.

The two offensive fouls on Harden came on inbounds passes before and after Horford's go-ahead shot.

While they will be heavily debated, the officials' decisions seemed fair to many:

Harden had his fifth game with 30 points and 10 assists, although it was far from his best effort as he shot 7-of-27 from the field and had eight turnovers. The sloppy play and final mistakes helped squander what was as much as a 26-point lead for Houston.

ESPN Stats & Info noted the result's rarity:

The Rockets appeared poised for victory, scoring the game's first 12 points before jumping out to a 32-12 lead after the first quarter.

It put the Celtics in an unfamiliar position, as ESPN Stats & Info and Boston Sports Journal's Brian Robb noted:

Harden and Eric Gordon continued to knock down their shots in the second quarter. The duo scored 17 points apiece in an impressive first half as the Rockets went up 62-38.

It was a much different story after intermission. The Celtics remembered how to play defense in a 31-16 third quarter. Irving scored 12 of his 26 points in the third, which featured a 20-4 Celtics run.

The rest of the team came through in the fourth, with Terry Rozier making plays on both ends, as the Celtics' Twitter account relayed:

Jayson Tatum cut the lead to one on a dunk with seven seconds to go to give him 19 points. Although Horford missed two free throws with two seconds remaining, his go-ahead jump hook was enough to seal arguably the Celtics' best win of the year.

This was the first of a four-game homestand for Boston that also includes difficult matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The team will at least get a few days off before it has to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Houston will stay on the road for a matchup against the Washington Wizards on Friday night.