James Harden had little trouble extending his 30-point streak on Wednesday night when he led the Rockets into Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks. He got that bit of business out of the way in the first half, scoring 36 points, and then went on to bigger and better things.
While the Rockets had more trouble with the Knicks than they probably expected, they did manage to secure a 114-110 win, thanks to 61 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and five steals by Harden. The 61 points were a career-high for Harden, as well as a Rockets franchise record. And if that wasn't enough, he tied Kobe Bryant's record for the most points ever scored at Madison Square Garden by an opponent. Carmelo Anthony still holds the single-game scoring record at MSG with a 62-point performance.
Oh, and Harden's 30-point streak is now at 21 games. Only Wilt Chamberlain has ever had longer streaks, though Harden will have a lot of work to do if he wants to match Chamberlain's remarkable record of 65 straight games with 30 points or more.
Perhaps the most remarkable statistic surrounding Harden's performance at MSG on Wednesday, is that none of his 61 points were assisted. Working in isolation as always, he got all of his points by himself. As a team, the Rockets had just 10 assists.
For Harden, this was the third time in the last five games that he's scored 57 or more points. In those five games, he's averaging 52.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.6 steals. Overall, this was the fifth 50-point game of the season for Harden, and the 17th time he's scored 40 or more points.