The individual matchup between Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Houston Rockets guard James Harden never fails to entertain.
That's not terribly surprising considering they are among the best at their respective crafts. Harden is the reigning NBA MVP and enters Thursday night's game against the Celtics in Houston with seven straight games of 30-plus points. Smart is one of the top five perimeter defenders in the league.
These two went head-to-head quite a bit in the two meetings between the Celtics and Rockets last season. Smart famously drew two offensive fouls on Harden to help the C's earn a 99-98 comeback win at TD Garden in December. Harden and the Rockets bounced back with a 123-120 win over the C's in Houston in March.
Harden is very tough to defend. He's crafty with the dribble, uses a variety of fakes to draw fouls and is among the best shooters in the league. Smart, however, has done a great job limiting Harden's effectiveness.
Here are Harden's stats when defended by Smart over the last two meetings (via NBC Sports Boston's Max Lederman).
Dec. 28, 2017: 5 points, 1-for-12 FG, 1-for-7 3-PT
March 3, 2018: 5 points, 1-for-5 FG, 0-for-4 3-PT
Totals: 10 points, 2-for-17 FG, 1-for-11 3-PT on 60 possessions
Boston Celtics
It doesn't get much better than that against one of the best pure scorers of this generation.
Smart likely will be called on to guard Harden a lot Thursday night as the Celtics try to build on their thrilling Christmas Day overtime win versus the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden officially is listed as questionable with a calf injury, but he's reportedly expected to play.
Even a banged-up Harden would provide a tough challenge for Smart and the rest of the Celtics. An injury couldn't prevent the Rockets superstar from scoring 41 points in a Christmas Day win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.
NBC SPORTS BOSTON SCHEDULE