Houston Rockets' All Star James Harden made another strong case in his push for a second straight MVP Award Thursday night, as he poured in 58 points to go along with 10 assists in a winning effort against the Miami Heat.
After the game fellow All Star Dwyane Wade praised Harden's uncanny ability to score the ball at will. "He's definitely one of the most unguardable players this game has ever seen," Wade said, according Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
Of Harden's sixth 50-point performance of the season, Wade added, "But a lot of mistakes of putting that hand in that cookie jar. It's something we talked about and something we knew we couldn't do, and we did it a lot."
According to ESPN, Harden now has 15 50+ point games. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor have scored 50 points more times in NBA history.
Harden is currently averaging a league-high 36.6 points per game. Houston is still sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference with a record of 37-25 as they prepare for a three-game stretch against the Eastern Conference's elite.
Up first is a nationally televised matchup Sunday afternoon in Boston (3:30pm ET, ABC), followed by a TNT game in Toronto and a home game vs Philadelphia, which will air on ESPN next Friday.