Houston Rockets guard James Harden saved his best performance for the last day of the year, torching the New York Knicks for 53 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds on Saturday night to give his team a 129-122 victory.
Despite the numbers being downright comical, it puts Harden in the company of one of the greatest to ever play the game, as he tied Wilt Chamberlain with the most points scored during a triple-double performance. The “Stilt” had 53 points, 32 rebounds and 14 assists for the Philadelphia 76ers in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
After assisting on eight three-point baskets, Harden accounted for a whopping 95 points of offense (73.6 percent of points scored). The only player to generate more offense than Harden was Chamberlain in his legendary 100-point game, where he was credited with two assists, accruing a total of 104 points of total offense.
The Beard has also surpassed Anthony Davis‘ monster 50-point outing during the second game of the season, where he also snatched 15 rebounds, dropped five dimes, nabbed four steals, and had five rejections; per NBA.com.
For good measure, Harden also finished the month of December with 194 assists, breaking the Rockets’ record of 183 assists in one month, which he had just set in November.
Enjoy every bit of James Harden's brilliance that capped 2016 in true historic fashion.
Historic! James Harden became the first player in @NBAHistory w/ 50 points, 15 reb. & 15 assists in a game. Harden had 53/16/17 @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/vsXJlCMje0
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) January 1, 2017
Follow Us
Subscribe