James Harden was determined not to have two poor games in a row, making quick work of the Washington Wizards with a 38-point performance in 34 minutes, one that led to a 120-104 rout.

From his usual courtside seat, Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon watched intently, sharing a back-and-forth moment, along with some laughs with Harden.

“He said it looked too easy,” Harden said of his conversation with the Rockets legend, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “He probably felt the same way when he was playing.”

Harden narrowly missed a triple-double, making 12 of his 18 shot attempts, including 5-of-8 3-pointers and adding 10 rebounds with nine assists.

“I was just being aggressive,” Harden said. “Didn’t want to have a repeat of what happened on Sunday. Kind of came out a little sluggish, they put the pressure on us and we didn’t want to allow that to happen again.”

His head coach, Mike D'Antoni, could see this one coming from a mile away, knowing his superstar would come out determined to leave his imprint in the game.

“Well, I had a feeling,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said when asked if he could tell Harden was about to go off on Tuesday. “Just watched him for two years. You know he’s not going to have too many bad games. It’s just a matter of time. That’s just who he is. He’s just too good.”

The Beard had shot under 50 percent for five straight games, including a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, but got back on track by dispatching the Wizards early, thanks to a huge first half.