James Harden drops 57 in Houston Rockets overtime loss to Memphis Grizzlies
Thursday 21 March 2019 11:20, UK
James Harden continued his prolific scoring with 57 points but his efforts were in vain as the Houston Rockets fell to a 126-125 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Harden connected on 18 of his 39 shots, including nine of his 17 three-point attempts, and added eight assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks but could not prevent the in-form Rockets from falling to their second defeat in their past 14 games.
MVP-frontrunner Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter as Houston outscored their opponents 37-18 for force overtime,
After former Rockets forward Chandler Parsons drilled a pair of threes to put the Grizzlies in control in the extra session, Harden nearly resurrected Houston again, giving the Rockets their first lead with a block and transition lay-up with 3:24 remaining. He scored eight points during a 28-second stretch in overtime.
But Harden's heroics were not enough as the Grizzlies held on for a 126-125 victory.
Harden's 57-point haul improved his scoring average to 36.1 points per game.
If he maintains that output over the Rockets' remaining 11 games, he will post the seventh-best single season scoring average in NBA history. Only Wilt Chamberlain (five times) and Michael Jordan have recorded more prolific single scoring seasons.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Harden erupt for 57 points in Memphis.
