James Harden has been on an absolute tear for the last 31 games. He has scored at least 30 points in each of those games and has tied Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest such scoring streak in NBA history (Wilt’s run ended at an absurd 65 games).
During the streak, the Houston Rockets are 21-10 and Harden has averaged nearly 42 points on over 27 field goal attempts per game.
Currently, the Rockets are 5th in the West at 33-24 despite stars Chris Paul and Clint Capela missing significant time due to injuries. Harden has been the sole reason why the Rockets remain firmly in the Western Conference playoff picture and why he is in serious contention for a second consecutive MVP this season.
Speaking with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, Harden chronicles why he’s had to go on such a streak saying,
“The scoring streak is obviously amazing, but it’s something that I just had to do because of our situation.”
He goes on to say,
“We had all the injuries and guys in and out of the lineup and things like that. So I think the streak just started happening, and now it’s like something to talk about.”
“But it’s not something that I’m really honestly focused on. That’s something I have to do in order to give us a chance to win the game.”
Harden at times is criticized for his style of play and former Lakers great Kobe Bryant recently stated, “I don’t think that style of basketball is ever going to win championships,” to which Harden admittedly agreed with.
During All-Star Weekend Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who was mic’d by NBA TV, detailed a conversation he had with Harden with Bucks Head Coach Mike Budenholzer and said,
“It’s interesting because I was talking to James in the back, obviously complimented him on what he’s done.
“The first thing he said was like, ‘Yeah, this is fun, but I wanna play different [than] like playing by myself, whatever, hero ball.’ But like the people want him to play like that in a system where they can actually play beautiful basketball with guys that know how to play.”
Harden is one of the NBA’s best and led the Rockets to within one game of beating Curry’s Warriors last year in the Western Conference Finals en route to his first MVP last season.
It will remain to be seen if Harden can keep up this historic pace during the 2nd half and what, if anything, he’ll have left for a Rockets playoff run this postseason.
The Rockets return to the floor Thursday night against the LeBron and the Lakers as Harden resumes his assault on the NBA record books.
Flip the pages to see Harden’s full conversation with Nichols and Curry’s comments during All-Star Weekend.