Harden's season-high 45 points leads Rockets past Pacers
The Indiana Pacers hung tough with the Houston Rockets on Monday, but had no answer for James Harden.
Harden dropped a season-high 45 points to power the Rockets to a 110-88 victory at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The high-scoring output marked Harden's 18th 30-plus-point game of the season and the fourth time he has eclipsed the 40-point mark.
| PLAYER | 40+ PT games |
|---|---|
| James Harden | 4 |
| LeBron James | 2 |
| Damian Lillard | 2 |
| Klay Thompson | 2 |
Only Mo Williams (52), Pau Gasol (46) and Carmelo Anthony (46) have scored more points in a game this season than Harden's 45.
It was the latest highlight in what has been a career season for Harden, who is among the favorites for MVP at the halfway point and has Houston sitting in fourth in the West with a 29-13 record. Harden was efficient in the victory, shooting 12-of-18 from the field, 7-of-12 from long range and 14-of-15 from the line. He added seven assists, four steals and one block for the Southwest Division's second-place Rockets.
Dwight Howard chipped in with 14 points and 17 rebounds in the victory.
Harden fills up the stat sheet with the best of them, and is averaging career highs in points, assists, rebounds and steals. His numbers entering play Monday, including his NBA rank:
| PPG | APG | RPG | 3PM | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.6 (1) | 6.7 | 5.7 | 105 (6) | 26.68 (5) |
The two-time All-Star will look to build off the monster effort on national TV Wednesday when the Rockets visit the Golden State Warriors, who limited Harden to 12 points in a blowout win over Houston on Saturday.