James Harden’s historic scoring run has now matched one of the all-time greats.
With 30 points through three quarters against Orlando on Sunday, the Rockets superstar matched Kobe Bryant’s streak of 16 consecutive 30-point games, achieved in 2003. Those two mark the NBA’s longest since Wilt Chamberlain strung together 20 such performances in 1964.
Larry Jones (23 in 1969) and Connie Hawkins (16 in 1968) also hit those marks in the ABA.
Harden finished with 38 points as the Magic rallied for a 116-109 victory over the Rockets.
Harden was just 1-for-17 on 3-point attempts. He did get fouled three times shooting from beyond the arc and was 9 for 9 from the free throw line on those occasions (15 of 16 overall), but it was never enough to give the Rockets a comfortable advantage.
Entering Sunday’s game, the reigning Kia MVP was averaging 40.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists in his previous 15 outings. He is attempting 15 3-pointers per game at a 40.9 percent clip during that stretch.
However, his string of five or more 3-pointers in a game ended at 12 on Sunday.
Bryant’s 30-point streak ran from Jan. 29, 2003 to Feb. 28, 2003 and, within that streak, he had nine straight games with 40 or more points.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
