Top Stat Lines Of NBA Week 8

#1 James Harden torches Blazers for 48 points

The shooting guard had his third 40-point game of the season en route to helping the Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-117 on the road. His stat line for the game:

48 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 16-29 FG, 4-7 3P FG, 12-14 FT, 2 TO, 9 +/-

The Rockets started the 4th quarter down 14 points. They made it a close match with the score at 114-113 and 2:06 left on the game clock. The next possession, Harden called for an isolation after getting Lillard to be switched on D to guard him. He drove in to the lane to get the bucket and drew the foul on Lillard, converting the and-1 opportunity. Blazers got a basket back and Harden again attacked the lane and finished a reverse layup to get his 47th point. The Blazers missed the opportunities they had on the offensive end in the final minutes of the 4th quarter while the Rockets didn't. Harden had a clutch performance to lead his team to a 9th consecutive win.

He scored 56 points against Utah earlier and has scored 48 on two occasions, including this one, this season. And we're not even halfway through the season yet. MVP worthy? Very likely.