James Harden, who was traded days before the season began from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets for a package headlined by Kevin Martin, erupted on his former team for a career-high 46 points last night in Houston.
The Thunder reached the NBA Finals last season with Harden as their sixth man, were beaten four games to one by the Heat. They did, however, overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Western Conference Finals, where he averaged 15.5 points and five assists in four straight wins over the Spurs. He took home the Sixth Man of the Year award.
The Thunder were considered along with the Los Angeles Lakers in the preseason, to be a strong candidate to return to the Finals, but Harden's impending free agency forced Oklahoma City's hand. They dealt him along with center Cole Aldrich, guard Daequan Cook and forward Lazar Hayward to the Rockets for guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick.
Questions about Harden's viability as a number one option after coming off the bench for his entire career on Oklahoma City were laid to rest in his first two games as a Rocket, when he scored 37 and 45 points.
In last night's win, Harden was 14-of-19 from the field, 7-of-8 from 3-point range, and 11-of-12 from the free throw line, scoring 46 points. He also chipped in eight rebounds and six assists in the win, helping Houston erase a 12-point deficit in the third quarter. Harden dropped 16 points in the fourth quarter.
This year Harden's scoring has leapt from 16.8 points per game to 26.5, good for fifth in the NBA. His former teammate Kevin Durant leads the way with 29 points per game. Martin, who was brought in to fill Harden's shoes is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc, four percentage points better than Harden last season.
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