The Houston Rockets secured their 60th win of the season as they easily overcame the Atlanta Hawks 118-99 on Sunday night.They became the first team to hit the 60-win mark this year and did so for the first time in franchise history."It's hard and it's a pretty special season to get 60," coach Mike D'Antoni said, per ESPN.They couldn't have asked for an easier game to reach that historic figure as the Hawks didn't prove to be a challenge.With the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 21-53, they were never going to give the Rockets a serious test and it proved to be the case as the home team cruised to victory.MVP favourite James Harden posted a triple-double of 18 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in just three quarters.In a routine night for Houston, the most interesting moment in the game came courtesy of a strange play by Trevor Ariza.After the ball went out of bounds, the small forward stood on the sidelines waiting to inbound the ball with just 0.1 seconds on the clock.There was only enough time for a tip-in but instead of looking for a lob into the paint for a teammate, Ariza bizarrely took a three-point shot while he was off the court.

Several things could've been going through his head at this point.

He possibly figured that the best way to get a tip-in would be off a missed shot, taking into account the fact that you can't be called for offensive goaltending from an inbounds pass, and knowing that the clock doesn't start once a pass hits the rim.

Looking at it from this viewpoint would make it a smart, heads-up play by the 32-year-old.

This obscure rule was brought to light earlier in the season by Phoenix Suns head coach Jay Triano who said he had that play in his back pocket as a secret for 15 years and was finally able to use it.

On that occasion, Dragan Bender threw a pass towards the basket and Tyson Chandler hung on the rim and nudged the ball in to seal a remarkable game-winner at the buzzer against the Memphis Grizzlies.

But it's difficult to know if Ariza was looking to replicate that play as it didn't look like something was drawn up involving a teammate.

There's the possibility that he was simply trolling the lowly Hawks and wanted to try this unorthodox inbounds play, which could land him on this week's Shaqtin a Fool.

Only Ariza would know what he meant to do but it's certainly something new. It would definitely be interesting to see if he ever tries this against a better team.

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