The Philadelphia 76ers had a matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday and James Harden came out ready to play. Harden dropped 15 points in the opening quarter, putting him on par with Kobe Bryant in terms of most first quarters with at least 15 points over the last 25 seasons as per ESPN's Stats&Info page. Friday's first quarter gave Harden 210 games, 30 behind Kobe Bryant's 240. During Harden's NBA career, he's made a name for himself as one of the most prolific scorers the game has ever seen.
Another high-scoring quarter for The Beard.
The first quarter was James Harden's 210th career quarter with at least 15 points. Only Kobe Bryant (240) has more over the last 25 seasons. pic.twitter.com/ZCNxMv29Cy
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 17, 2022
James Harden led the NBA in scoring for three straight season from 2017-2020 when he was a member of the Houston Rockets. He holds career averages of 24.9 points per game and 44.2 percent shooting from the field, 36.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 86 percent shooting from the free-throw line. He's been named to the All-Star team for all but three of his 13 seasons in the NBA prior to this year.
Friday's game against the Warriors marked only the fifth game that Harden was been back though after being sidelined for 14 games with a foot injury. In the four games before Friday, Harden had been putting up 22.3 points while shooting 43 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range. The Sixers have gone 3-1 since he's been back and have continued to make ground in the Eastern Conference standings.
Coming into Friday's game, the Sixers were sitting at 15-12 and in fifth place in the East. They are only one game back of the fourth place Brooklyn Nets and two games back of the third place Cleveland Cavaliers.
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