James Harden tied Michael Jordan for the third most 60-point performances in NBA history on Saturday as Houston Rockets beat Atlanta Hawks 158-111.
Harden finished with 60 points to reach the mark for the fourth time and tie Jordan.
Only two players, Kobe Bryant (six) and Wilt Chamberlain (32) have more.
“That’s greatness right there. Those guys are something that I’m trying to get to,” said Harden, who finished one point shy of his career high of 61.
“Hopefully when I am done, I can be mentioned in that group forever.”
James Harden
Harden made 16 of 24 field-goal attempts, including eight of 14 from three-point range, and connected on 20 of 23 free-throw attempts. He played just 31 minutes and also had eight assists.
He is the fourth player to score 50 or more points on 20 occasions, trailing Chamberlain (118), Jordan (31) and Bryant (25).
LeBron James reaches 33,000 career points
LeBron James became just the fourth player in NBA history to surpass 33,000 career points last week.
James reached the milestone in the Los Angeles Lakers’ clash away to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tops the all-time list with 38,387 points, ahead of Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643).
Prior to the game against the Pelicans, Lakers superstar and three-time NBA champion James had been averaging 25.6 points, 11.0 assists and 7.4 rebounds this season.
