There have been nine 50-point triple-doubles in the history of the NBA, and Rockets guard James Harden has posted two of them within 28 days of each other. The Sixers just happened to be on the wrong end of his latest masterpiece.
Harden set a record at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night, becoming the first ever player to record multiple 50-point triple-doubles, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The five-time All-Star finished with 51 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, carrying the Rockets to a 123-118 victory over the Sixers in the process (see game story).
"Tonight was me just scoring the basketball, being aggressive," Harden said. "They were doing a really good job of not leaving our shooters, and so I had to make plays."
The Sixers and Rockets were tied at 61 apiece at halftime, with Harden already well on his way to a triple-double, but sitting on only 15 points. That's when he apparently decided to take matters into his own hands, scoring 19 in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth to help secure a win.
"We made some adjustments at halftime," Harden said. "We had to play a little harder and we got some shots to fall, so we gave ourselves some cushion going into the fourth quarter."
The Rockets built a 12-point lead heading into the final period, but with Harden on the bench, the Sixers cut it to four in just one minute and 13 seconds of action.
It was going to take everything Harden and the Rockets had to fend off a Sixers squad that refused to go quietly — and he was counting on that.
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"We knew they were going to make a run — scrappy team, never give up — and when I checked back in, just continued to be aggressive," Harden said. "Attack mode and make plays for my teammates."
The Sixers tried almost every defensive matchup imaginable to slow Harden down, to no avail. The results were the same no matter who he drew.
"You saw an NBA All-Star," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Harden. "We saw a gold medalist, we saw a legitimate candidate for MVP and we tried different people on him.
"I think when you really study the success of Houston and you study how they score, you have to pick your poison. You've really gotta say, 'What sword are we going to fall on? If we're gonna die, what's it gonna look like?' And you saw it."
Brown's game plan hinged on trying to take the three-point shot out of the Rockets' arsenal, and for the most part, it was successful. There was simply no stopping Harden.
"The rest of their players were 6 for 20 from threes," Brown said. "We did a good job on not getting sucked in on the rest of the team, and it took somebody to have 51 points and go 6 for 11 (from three-point range) to beat us by five on our home court.
"And so sometimes you walk away and shake his hand."
You could see Harden getting the Sixers increasingly off-balance as the contest wore on.
After failing to get to the free-throw line one time in the first half, Harden was able to draw numerous fouls in the second half. Not only did he wind up finishing 11 of 13 from the charity stripe, but the calls forced the Sixers to alter their approach somewhat.
"We tried to pressure him, but he's so good at getting fouled and drawing fouls, that he started getting a rhythm," Sixers guard T.J. McConnell said. "They weren't really calling much in the first quarter, and that was to our advantage. Then, he started getting fouled and he got into a really good rhythm."
"I think you've got to give credit to him," Sixers center/power forward Nerlens Noel said. "At times, there wasn't much you could do about it. When he's stepping back, you're trying to respect the drive and they give him those calls. It just makes it hard to really guard him without having guys filling in the lanes, and then that opens up the three-point shots."
On this particular occasion, the Sixers didn't have the answer.
"He got going and we just should've done a better job," Noel said.
Despite posting an incredible individual performance and picking up a big W on the road, Harden couldn't help but come away impressed by the Sixers, particularly center Joel Embiid. A game-time decision with a left knee contusion, Embiid wound up scoring 32 himself — one point shy of his career high.
"He's a problem," Harden said of Embiid. "Obviously, he's extremely big (7-foot-2), athletic, can shoot the three. He has an extremely bright future, as we all see.
"He played hard, man. They've got a lot of young guys that play hard, and he's the face of the franchise."
Harden was up to the challenge, though, both of going against the suddenly surging Embiid-led Sixers and facing a raucous crowd at the Wells Fargo Center. On a nationally televised stage, the fans did not disappoint, packing the building to the rafters, trusting The Process to the bitter end.
It was a backdrop even Harden and his Rockets teammates had to appreciate.
"It looked like it was sold out, so the atmosphere was good," Harden said. "It got me going a little bit. I'm sure it got my teammates going.
"It's always fun to play in games like that."