On January 30, 2018, James Harden delivered a historic performance in the middle of an MVP campaign.
The Rockets would pick up the 114-107 win at the Toyota Center, though, it was the individual brilliance of Harden that completely stole the show.
The soon-to-be crowned MVP would put together a historic line of 60 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists - the first 60-point triple-double in NBA history.
Watch the historic performance on today's streamed #NBATogetherLive game:
Incredibly, Harden played all but 94 seconds in the game, finishing 19-for-30 from the field including a scorching hot 14-for-16 from two-point range.
It was the ninth time Harden had topped 50 points in a game, and the 60 helped himbreakCalvin Murphy's team-record of 57 points.
Harden would eventually top that career-high mark by dropping 61 points against the San Antonio Spurs in March, 2019.
Houston would finish the 2017-18 season with a 65-17 record, before eventually falling to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the conference finals.
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The Rockets would pick up the 114-107 win at the Toyota Center, though, it was the individual brilliance of Harden that completely stole the show. The soon-to-be crowned MVP
MVP
The NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season.
James Harden of the Houston Rockets produces the first triple-double in NBA history that includes a 60-point game in a 114-107 win over the Orlando Magic. Harden's 60 points broke the Rockets' 40-year-old franchise record, and he added 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
James Harden is officially the 26th-highest scorer in NBA history. He surpassed all-time great Allen Iverson on Thursday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.
With that stat line, Doncic passed NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain for fourth on the all-time 40-point triple-doubles list. Chamberlain had seven career games where he posted a 40-point triple-double, and now Doncic has eight such games.
While joining James Harden as the only two players in league history to record a 60-point triple-double, Doncic became the first to achieve the feat with 20-plus rebounds.
In NBA history, 10 players have achieved this feat on 14 occasions (Wilt Chamberlain had six such games). Below is a look at every 70-point game in NBA history.
Embiid became the ninth different player with a 70-point game: Chamberlain did it six times, and everyone else on the list — Baylor, Thompson, David Robinson, Bryant, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard and now Embiid — has done it once.
Bryant's 81-point game is almost as famous as Chamberlain's 100. It's the only other time in NBA history a player has scored 80 or more points in a game. To say the offense was centered around Kobe that day would be an understatement.
Russell Westbrook holds the record for the most NBA career regular season triple doubles with 199, and is the only player to average a triple-double over four different seasons.
With Kyrie Irving sidelined for both games, Luka Doncic put up video-game numbers, becoming the first player in NBA history to average a 50-point triple-double in a two-game span. He poured in 73 points against the Hawks on Friday, tying for the fourth-most points scored in a single game in NBA history.
Harden is now the leader of an extremely exclusive club, as only six players (Harden, Westbrook, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Richie Guerin) have recorded 50-point triple doubles in NBA history, and only four have multiple 50-point triple-doubles (Harden, Westbrook, Baylor, Chamberlain).
Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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