James Harden of the Houston Rockets reacts against the Dallas Mavericks in the first half at American Airlines Center on December 27, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo : Getty Images/Tom Pennington)
On Monday, James Harden joined an elite club among LeBron James and Michael Jordan as the eighth player in NBA history to have a 30-10-10-5 stat line after dropping 30 points, 13 boards, 10 assists and five steals against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Houston Rockets guard then became history for himself by being the first player in NBA history with 50 points, 15 rebounds & 15 assists in a game.
The Most Valuable Player candidate ended the year with a bang after punishing the New York Knicks with 53 points, 17 assists and 16 boards to lead the Rockets into a 129-122 win in the Toyota Center. It is the best game of Harden's career so far as he set a career-high in points and three-pointers made with nine treys before ultimately matching Wilt Chamberlain for most points in a triple-double performance, Yahoo Sports reported.
Despite finishing the game with eight turnovers, 'The Beard' was just efficient from all over the floor burying 14 of his 26 shot attempts, nine of his 16 three-point attempts while going 16-of-18 from the free throw line. After Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said that Harden would play this season as a point guard, has drastically upped his assists numbers from 7.5 assists last year to 12.0 assists this year.
Houston and Harden's success can be attributed to the loss of Dwight Howard who was just clogging the paint when he was in Texas. Now that Howard is gone, the Rockets are utilizing the pick and roll while spreading the floor with three-point snipers, and Harden is the master orchestrator behind all of it.
Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook is currently the frontrunner in NBA's latest Race to MVP ladder after ending 2016 with 31 triple doubles but Harden is just lurking behind to take the top spot now that he has averaged 41.5 points, 13.5 assists and 14.5 boards in the last two games.
Watch the video below to see Harden's highlights against the Knicks:
