James Harden closed out the year in a way no other athlete had ever wrapped a New Year's Eve before.
The Houston Rockets‘ all-around guard put up a historic stat line with 53 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds in a 129-122 high-scoring win over a depleted New York Knicks team.
With a couple of nights to digest the event, the Rockets' star was asked how Saturday night's game compared to a regular night of action on the hardwood.
“I've never seen it done before,” Harden told reporters. “It felt no different (from any other game). Obviously I made shots — just getting guys involved, guys made shots. Overall it felt like any other game other than me making more shots than normal.”
Harden totaled 95 points of total offense, the highest since Wilt Chamberlain‘s legendary 100-point game where he was credited with two assists, making him responsible for 104 points.
The Beard, being the perfectionist that he is, still saw potential to do even more during a game that most players have only dreamed of having, or like Knicks guard Brandon Jennings referred to — NBA 2K in rookie mode type numbers.
“I still thought we could've played better,” said Harden. “There was some opportunities where you miss a couple three, miss a couple layups, dunks.”
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