Rockets' Harden Posts Historic Stat Line in Overtime Victory

Houston Rockets guard James Harden posted a historic stat line in Wednesday's 108-103 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the first player since steals were first recorded in 1973 to have 45 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in one game, per NBA.com/stats.

Known primarily for his scoring and secondarily for his distributing skills, Harden had a rare across-the-board performance in Wednesday's game, though the five steals likely overstate his true impact on the defensive end.

More impressive was his scoring prowess in an otherwise ugly game, as the 26-year-old accounted for 42 percent of his team's points, in large part because he got to the free-throw line 20 times and made 19 of those attempts.

Harden actually wasn't all that efficient from the field, making just 11 of his 29 field-goal attempts (38 percent) and four of his 15 three-point attempts (27 percent).

Of course, even accounting for all the missed shots and the added opportunities created by the overtime period, there's something to be said for posting a stat line that previously hadn't been reached in NBA history.

Even more important, the Rockets halted a four-game losing streak in their first game under interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who replaced Kevin McHale earlier in the day.