Ranking the 4 best Rockets’ performances on March 15th

2. James Harden-March 15th, 2013

Shortly before the 2012-13 season started, the Houston Rockets made a last minute deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which brought James Harden to the Space City. Harden got off to a hot start, as he scored 82 points through his first two games.

Both of those games resulted in victories for the Rockets, and it became clear they had finally landed their superstar. Harden made the All-Star team that year, and was also named to the All-NBA team, which is even more impressive considering how he’d been a reserve in Oklahoma City.

Harden had 21 games in which he scored 30 points or more that year, which included the Rockets’ March 15th game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets were 36-30 heading into that game, as they were fighting for the final spot in the Western Conference.

Harden scored 37 points on just 16 shots, and shot 50 percent from long-range. Not only that, Harden had a game-high in 3-pointers made, which is impressive considering how he made half of his attempts. Harden also went 16-of-18 from the charity stripe, which were also game-highs. As if this weren’t impressive enough, Harden also had a game-high eight assists.

Harden also played 43 minutes that game  which was also a game-high. During that game, Harden had a true shooting percentage of 77.3 percent, which further indicated that he was the star Rockets GM Daryl thought he would be.

The most important fact about Harden’s performance during this game is the fact that it led the Rockets to a victory.

Next: No. 1