James Harden lifts Rockets over Sixers with 44-point triple-double

Continuing a historic run of efficiency, Rockets star James Harden had 44 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in a big win over the 76ers.

Continuing a historic run of efficiency, James Harden had 44 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 118-108 victory by the Rockets over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in Houston (box score).

It’s the first triple-double of Harden’s 2019-20 season and the 43rd of his currently 11-year and eventually Hall of Fame career in the NBA.

The Sixers have considerable length on the perimeter in the form of Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons and double teamed Harden at times, but nothing seemed to work against Harden on a consistent basis.

When coupled with a season-high 30 points from Clint Capela — many on lobs from Harden — and 20 from Russell Westbrook, it was enough to send the Rockets (24-11) to a fourth straight home win.

Friday’s victory was especially impressive, since it came by double digits over a potential title contender in the 76ers (23-14) and followed up an even larger win earlier in the week against the Denver Nuggets (24-10).

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Naturally, Harden helped close the nationally televised game out with a pair of dagger step-back 3-pointers in the final three minutes.

Simmons kept the Sixers in striking distance with a triple-double of his own with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. The long 6-foot-10 point guard also had four blocks and three steals.

Through 34 games this season, the newly-braided Harden is now averaging 38.4 points per game, which would be the highest total of any NBA player in 56 years and the most by a guard ever.

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But what’s most remarkable is the efficiency. Harden’s 44 points on Friday came on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2%), including 6-of-12 (50.0%) on 3-pointers. The former MVP now has a career-long streak of seven consecutive games shooting at least 50% from the field.

Including Friday’s game, Harden has shot 50.0% or better in 17 of his 34 games played (50%) this season after doing so in 23 of his 78 games played (29.5%) in the 2018-19 season. Excluding an initial nine-game slump to begin this season, the 30-year-old has now finished at 50.0% or better from the field in 16 of his last 25 games (64%).

Harden has also made at least four 3-pointers in 11 consecutive games, with an average of 6.4 made 3-pointers per game over that span on 49.6% shooting from behind the arc.

Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that Harden is even more efficient in 2019-20 than he was in his historic scoring season a year ago — and the results are improving even more as 2019-20 moves along.

Harden and the Rockets (24-11) now have four consecutive off days before resuming play next Wednesday night in Atlanta against the presumably undermanned Hawks (7-28). After Friday’s games, the Rockets are a half-game back of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings.

The Rockets will now be able to enjoy a rare weekend off before returning to practice on Monday morning at Toyota Center.

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