Unstoppable Harden records league-leading 8th 40-point game, drops 44 on Pacers

James Harden was at it again Monday night. Frankly, we don't know where to begin. 

Let's start with this: Harden dropped 44 points on the Indiana Pacers, leading the Rockets to a 110-100 victory. It was Harden's eighth game with over 40 points, tops in the league. Russell Westbrook has seven. It was also his league-leading 30th 30-point game of the season. 

The Beard - who added four rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks - also went to the free-throw line 22 times, hitting 21. He hit his first 18 free throws, tying a Rockets record in the process. 

There's more: Harden's 19 points in the fourth quarter were more than any other Rocket scored in the game. Donatas Motiejunas had 17 points, while Josh Smith contributed 18 off the bench on a very un-Smith-like 50 percent shooting.  

The Rockets, as they've done all season, lived and thrived by the 3. They hit 13 of their 24 3-point attempts, tying an NBA record with their 51st game with 10-plus 3-pointers made. 

The Pacers, who trailed all night, were led by George Hill, who had 20 points but was absolutely abused by Harden:

Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 10 rebounds, David West 10 points, and C.J. Watson had 23 points off the bench, hitting seven of his 10 shots, going 4-of-5 from deep. 

In the end, though, it was Harden's night. One of many.