Los Angeles: NBA scoring juggernaut James Harden poured in a season-high 57 points on Monday to power the short-handed Houston Rockets to a 112-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Harden’s latest monster game highlighted a night of NBA action that saw Hornets point guard Tony Parker receive a hero’s welcome in San Antonio — the city where he starred for 17 seasons.
Parker had a modest eight points, four assists and three rebounds in 19 minutes on the court — all with Spurs fans cheering him on.
“Man, a lot of love,” said Parker, who won four NBA titles with San Antonio. “I’ve been with those fans for a long time and I really appreciate (this).
“It’s hard to describe the feeling I have right now.”
Harden departed the court in Houston to a rousing ovation as well, and it owed nothing to nostalgia.
With the Rockets reeling from the news that center Clint Capela will likely miss at least four weeks with a thumb injury — joining an injury list that already included Chris Paul and Eric Gordon — Harden happily shouldered the burden.
“No pressure,” Harden said. “I do this for a living. I have fun with it.”
He extended his streak of consecutive 30-point games to a remarkable 17 — and he did it by halftime with 36 points before the break.
It’s the longest such streak since Wilt Chamberlain had 20 straight games of 30 or more points in 1964, surpassing Lakers great Kobe Bryant’s 16-game 30-point streak in the 2002-03 season.
— AFP
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