Tuesday 19 November 2019 11:01, UK
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni called James Harden and Russell Westbrook "a pretty good 1-2 punch" after the pair combined for 64 points in Houston's win over Portland.
Harden has been scoring at such a prolific rate this season that his 36-point effort in Houston's 132-108 rout of the Trail Blazers actually caused his average to dip.
"For him he had a subpar night," Portland coach Terry Stotts said with a slight laugh.
Westbrook added 28 points and a triple-double to help the Rockets to their eighth straight win.
Harden, who has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, also had six rebounds, five assists and a steal. He leads the NBA by averaging a career-high 39.2 points this season. The second-highest scorer in the league is Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is well behind Harden at 30.3 points a game.
"I think that a lot of people like to normalise greatness when you see it over and over again," Westbrook said. "But it's not normal because there's no one else that can do it. If it was normal everybody would do it. He has put himself in a position to one of the best scorers of all time."
Westbrook added 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season and the 141st of his career after sitting out to rest in Houston's last game on Saturday night.
Coach Mike D'Antoni loved the way Harden and Westbrook worked together against the Trail Blazers.
"You've got a dose of [Westbrook's] athleticism coming at you and they've got to get back and get a wall and then ... it didn't quite go and get it back to James and just let him do what James does," DAntoni said. "It's a pretty good 1-2 punch, that's for sure."
The Rockets led by double digits for most of the game on a night they got starters Clint Capela and Danuel House back after both players had missed time with injuries.
Houston were up by 14 at half-time after a 15-point second quarter from Harden. They led by 23 points entering the final period after scoring 35 points in a big third quarter. The Trail Blazers cut it to 102-85 with about nine minutes to go but Westbrook had the next three points to pad the lead.
Houston were up by 18 with about five minutes left when Harden made a three-pointer to make it 120-99. Westbrook collected his 10th assist when Harden made a lay-up with about three-and-a-half minutes left for Houston's next points and the pair, along with PJ Tucker, headed to the bench for good after that.
