Here at the quarter mark of the regular season, the MVP race has been dominated by a trio of names. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues his quest to repeat for the award as the Bucks sit atop the East, while LeBron reaffirms his status as one of the most unstoppable forces in basketball.
Luka Doncic, however, has taken the league by storm as he shatters the record books with his incredible play in his sophomore season. Still, there is another player who keeps reminding us that he belongs firmly in that discussion as well. Though the Houston Rockets haven’t quite been the juggernaut they’ve been in years past, Harden’s numbers are as ridiculous as ever.
On Friday night, he added to his resume in a 130-107 blowout win over the Magic as he logged 54 points and shot 10-of-15 from downtown. It was his second straight 50-point, 10-three pointer game after their narrow win against the Cavs earlier in the week.
James Harden (54 PTS) is on a mission.
Back-to-back 50+ point | 10+ 3PM games for The Beard 🤯 pic.twitter.com/62sVLtWAOi
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 14, 2019
His 10 three-pointers are a franchise record, and he now owns the league record for the most 50-point games on the road after overtaking Wilt Chamberlain on Wednesday. The Rockets have now won two straight and trail the Dallas Mavericks by just a half-game as they sit in the No. 4 spot in the West.
