James Harden Erupts for 59 Points as Rockets Beat Wizards 159-158

James Harden went off for 59 points as he led the Houston Rockets to a wild 159-158 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.

The 2017-18 NBA MVP shot 18-of-32 from the floor and 17-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Coming off a 40-point performance on Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it did not appear early on that Harden would go off on this night, as he had just two points through the first six-plus minutes of the game.

He put up a solid 21 points in the first half—and then he went off in the second half.

Harden put the Rockets on his back, scoring 11 of his team's first 13 points coming out of the locker room. He went on to score 21 points in the third alone.

On a night in which the teams combined to score 317 points in 48 minutes, Houston needed every single one of Harden's points to pull out the victory. It was Harden's free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining that broke a 158-158 tie and ultimately gave the Rockets the victory.

He had an opportunity to hit the 60-mark, but he missed his second free-throw attempt.

Harden now has a 50-point game in six consecutive seasons, which, according to ESPN Stats & Info, is the second-longest streak in NBA history:

He was not the only ond to put up big numbers on this night, though:

Harden is now averaging 36.8 points per game on the season, helping Houston to a 3-1 record.