On March 24, 2017, Houston Rockets star James Harden tied his career high with 17 assists in a 117-107 home win (box score) over Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans.
Harden averaged a career-high 11.2 assists in the 2016-17 season, which was the first for head coach Mike D’Antoni in Houston. Since Chris Paul had yet to be acquired, Harden carried even more of the playmaking burden, and the offense fluorished with him in that role. Ultimately, Houston finished with the NBA’s No. 2 net offensive rating (114.1).
In the previous 2015-16 season before D’Antoni’s arrival and the declaration of Harden as the team’s point guard, the Rockets had the league’s No. 7 offense — with a net offensive rating of 107.3.
In December 2019, Harden passed Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy for No. 1 on the all-time Houston Rockets assists list.
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Besides his career-high 17 assists in that March 24, 2017 victory over the Pelicans, Harden also scored a game-high 38 points on 12-of-24 shooting (50.0%) at Toyota Center — including 5-of-12 on 3-pointers (41.7%).
The Pelicans had cut the lead to just two points with 1:45 left, but Harden put the game away by scoring eight points in under 30 seconds as Houston improved to 50-22 on its 2016-17 campaign.
The Rockets finished that season at 55-27 and as the No. 3 seed in the 2017 Western Conference playoffs, representing tremendous improvement from their 41-41 year with a No. 8 seed in 2016.
Harden finished second in the NBA’s 2017 MVP voting, with future teammate Russell Westbrook claiming the crown.
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