James Harden Scores 50 vs. Nuggets: Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Houston Rockets star James Harden is doing everything he can to distance himself from Stephen Curry and LeBron James in the NBA Most Valuable Player discussion. He dropped 50 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 118-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night in Texas.

According to the Rockets, it's the first 50-point game from a Houston player since Hakeem Olajuwon hit the mark in 1996:

The team also revealed that it was a career high for the 25-year-old shooting guard. Thursday night was the seventh time this year Harden has scored 40 or more, which is tied with Russell Westbrook for the league lead.

After the game, Harden made sure his teammates got some love, per Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com:

As CBS Sports astutely noted, Harden outscored the whole of the Texas Longhorns, who lost, 56-48, to the Butler Bulldogs in the NCAA tournament earlier in the day:

How Harden arrived at 50 is almost more remarkable. He attempted 27 field goals, making 12 of them. He also went an astonishing 22-of-25 from the charity stripe. Harden is known for his ability to get inside and force his way to the foul line, but that second number was impressive even by his standards.

Defense has often been Harden's biggest area of weakness, but he showed off his skills on that end of the court in the first quarter, picking Randy Foye's pocket and setting himself up for a thunderous tomahawk jam.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey feels that Thursday's game only strengthens Harden's case in the MVP race:

It's still a bit too early to say that his 50-point outburst will be enough for him to vault Curry, James or potentially Westbrook, but he's certainly positioning himself well for the final stretch of the regular season.

Between his long-range ability and propensity to draw fouls, Harden can be unstoppable on his best night. And Thursday was evidence of that.