Rockets' James Harden's 30-Point Streak Ends at 32 After Scoring 28 vs. Hawks

The Houston Rockets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 119-111 on Monday, but the win came with a cost—James Harden's scoring streak.

Harden finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists and saw his streak of scoring 30 or more points in a game end at 32 contests. While he was 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, he can blame his poor shooting from the field for failing to reach 30 for the first time in more than a third of the season.

He was just 7-of-21 from the floor and an abysmal 0-of-10 from three-point range. Michael Lee of The Athletic noted he "was definitely hunting 30 until it looked desperate," but he still fell short.

Harden's scoring streak—the longest such one since the NBA-ABA merger—has propelled him into the thick of the MVP discussion alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder, among others, but much of it was out of necessity given the Rockets' situation.

Chris Paul and Clint Capela each missed significant time during the streak, forcing Harden into a situation where the offense was almost solely dependent on his ability to find the basket or create for others.

Now, Paul can serve as a facilitator and scorer, and Capela can work in pick-and-rolls and catch lobs at the rim. Paul (20 points) and Capela (12 points) were part of a more balanced attack that saw six of Houston's nine players score in double figures.

While the return of Paul and Capela will naturally cut into Harden's overall scoring numbers, the Rockets are also much more equipped to deal with the best the Western Conference has to offer come playoff time with the entire trio on the floor. They are 35-25 and sitting in fifth place in the West but are only two games behind the Portland Trail Blazers in the race for home-court advantage in the first round.

Harden no longer has the scoring streak to point to as the season progresses, but he is still playing for postseason positioning and a chance at two straight MVP awards.