Wednesday 20 March 2019 12:28, UK
James Harden made history by scoring 31 points against the Atlanta Hawks to complete a clean sweep of 30+ point performances against every opponent in a single season.
Harden made 8 of his 18 shots and 11-of-12 free throws to lead the Houston Rockets to a comfortable 121-105 road win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In doing so, he completed a clean sweep of 30-point performances against each of the NBA's 29 other teams over the course of a single campaign.
Harden also added 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Rockets rolled to their 12th win in their last 13 games.
Harden's scoring has made him the joint-favourite - along with Giannis Antetokounmpo - for the regular season MVP award, an honour he also won last season.
He is currently averaging 35.8 points per game, a full seven-and-a-half points more than his closest rival Paul George. Only Wilt Chamberlain (on five occasions) and Michael Jordan (once) have averaged more points per game over the course of a single NBA season.
In 67 games, Harden has scored 2,399 points. He is on target to better Kobe Bryant's 2,832 points (2005-06) but the 3,000-point barrier (passed three times by Chamberlain and once by Jordan) now looks to be beyond his reach.
Harden also leads the league in free throws attempted (11.1) and made (9.8) per game and is second behind Stephen Curry in three-pointers made per game (4.7).
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Harden's complete his set of 30-point performances in Houston's win over Atlanta.
