James Harden Scores 45 Points vs. Trail Blazers: Highlights and Twitter Reaction

James Harden had little trouble putting the short-handed Houston Rockets on his shoulders Sunday night, pouring in 45 points to go with nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. 

However, the huge night also came with a notch in the "L" column, as the Portland Trail Blazers used a big fourth quarter to secure the 109-98 victory at the Toyota Center. 

It was hardly a rare occurrence for Harden, who entered the night a full point per game ahead of LeBron James in the NBA scoring race. The 45 points ties a season-high he set against the Indiana Pacers in January, and it also gives him the most 40-plus-point efforts on the year, per the team's Twitter feed: 

As Rockets radio play-by-play announcer Craig Ackerman noted, Portland, which is fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, has had real trouble slowing him down:

It was a typical evening from Harden. He knocked down four of his 10 three-point attempts, but much of his work was done attacking the basket. He broke down Portland's stout perimeter defense, consistently getting to the hoop to convert or draw the foul. He hit 19 of 23 free throws, both of which were season-highs. 

The monster near triple-double had many, such as SheridanHoops.com's Ben DuBose and SportsTalk 790's Adam Clanton, making the case for the guard receiving MVP honors: 

That argument may fall on deaf ears because the Rockets lost, dropping to 35-16 and six games behind the Golden State Warriors in the West. But as ESPN Stats and Info noted, Harden received next to no help from his teammates Sunday:

There's no denying how spectacular Harden has been. He entered the day first in the NBA in win shares and third in win shares per 48 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com. Nights like Sunday, where he does whatever he wants offensively and fills up the stat sheet, have become commonplace. 

And with Dwight Howard expected to miss six to eight weeks, they may become even more common.

But if Houston is going to keep pace with Memphis, Dallas and San Antonio in the Southwest Division, it's clearly going to take more than just a superhuman effort from Harden.