James Harden is a man possessed as he went off for a career-high and Rockets franchise record 61 points at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. Harden led the way in the Rockets 114-110 victory over the Knicks while tying Kobe Bryant’s record for points scored by a visiting opponent.
The 61 points extended his run of 30+ point games to 21 straight which is fourth best in NBA history. Tonight’s mark was also his fifth 50+ point game this season as his joins Michael Jordan and Bryant with five in a season. Harden finished 17 of 38 from the field, 22 of 25 from the charity stripe, 5 of 20 from behind the arc and snagged 15 rebounds. He sealed the game with a slam at the 3.8 second mark in the 4th after Eric Gordon forced a Knicks’ turnover.
Gordon hit a go-ahead three with 9.8 seconds left when New York decided to double-team Harden and leave EG open. Gordon had 20 points in the win.
Houston improves to 27-20 and will return home to host the Toronto Raptors Friday night at 7:00pm.