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James Harden propels Rockets to high-scoring win over Suns
Houston Rockets star James Harden is the NBA's leading scorer and one of the top few MVP candidates in the league right now, but he has yet to secure his place in the West starting lineup for Sunday's All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. With Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin both missing the game due to injury, the 25-year-old guard has a solid shot at starting the game for the first time in his third-straight All-Star appearance. However, West head coach Steve Kerr may opt to go with his Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson instead.
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If Kerr is going to base his choice off recent performances, then Harden made a pretty good case for himself in Tuesday night's game vs. the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Harden finished with 40 points (13-of-23 FG, 3-of-7 3FG, 11-of-14 FT), 12 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and a block in 43 minutes to lead Houston to a 127-118 win. This performance followed up Harden's excellent game Sunday in a losing effort against the Portland Trail Blazers, when he had 45 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Take a look at some of his best moments from the victory:
Exactly half of Harden's scoring came when the Rockets needed it most. After a dominant 41-23 first quarter, Houston allowed Phoenix back into the game during the second and third quarters due to plays like this one from Markieff Morris:
Down 89-88 entering the fourth quarter, the Rockets needed Harden to step up his game. He did just that, scoring 20 of his 40 without sitting out a single second of the period. If you add in his three assists, then Harden had a hand in 28 of the Rockets' 29 points in the fourth.
Harden will have one more chance to convince Kerr of his starting lineup worthiness on Wednesday night vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. Or, who knows, maybe the Warriors coach will decide to start both Harden and Thompson so no one's feelings get hurt.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
