The Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards battled to a final score Wednesday night that looked more like the result of an All-Star Game than an early-season matchup, combining to score 317 points, the most in an NBA game decided by a single point.

The Rockets needed every one of James Harden's 59 points to prevail 159-158, and the Wizards matched the record for the most points scored in an NBA regulation loss.

The previous record for combined points in a game decided by a single point was 311 between the Bulls and Trail Blazers in 1984. Houston set a franchise record for points Wednesday night, while Washington's 158 was the second-most in franchise history and matched the mark for the most in a regulation loss set by the Nuggets in 1990. The Wizards' effective field goal percentage of .736 was the highest in a loss since the shot-clock era began in 1954-55, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

It was the third game in the past 25 seasons in which each team scored at least 150 points, joining the Bulls' 168-161 win over the Hawks this past March and the Suns' 161-157 win over the Nets in December 2006.

The Rockets and Wizards combined to score 153 points in the first half, the highest-scoring half in a game this young season.

Harden made one of two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to give the Rockets the victory. He was 18-of-32 from the field, 6-of-14 from 3-point range and 17-of-18 from the free throw line. He also had nine assists in 37 minutes. He now has a 50-point game in five consecutive seasons, tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history, with 19 total in his career.

Teammate Russell Westbrook had his second-triple double of the season, with 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Harden and Westbrook are the first pair of teammates to have a 55-point outing and a triple-double in the same game since Reggie Miller (57 points) and Pooh Richardson in 1992, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. Harden and Westbrook scored or assisted on 128 of the Rockets' 159 points.

For the Wizards, Bradley Beal scored 46 points, including hitting three throws with 8.1 seconds left to tie it at 158. His performance made it the second instance in NBA history of three different players having 55-plus points, 45-plus points and a triple-double in a single game, per research by the Elias Sports Bureau. In December 1961, Wilt Chamberlain had 78 points, Elgin Baylor had 63 points and Jerry West had a triple-double in the Lakers' 151-147 win over the Philadelphia Warriors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.