James Harden Is On A Record-Breaking Tear Right Now

James Harden is on an otherworldly tear right now. Harden did it again Thursday night, dropping 44 points and picking up a triple-double while leading the Houston Rockets to a road win over the Golden State Warriors. Oh, and he hit the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime.

Harden finished the night with 44 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, which meant he had 35 points and five or more assists for an NBA-record ninth-straight game. He has also scored 40 or more points in five-straight games.

Harden and the Rockets have won 10 of their last 11 games. In that stretch, Harden has averaged 39.7 points, 8.5 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 5.5 3-pointers per game. In the last nine games, he’s averaged a ridiculous 41.1 points and 9.2 assists per game.

It’s not just the numbers, Harden is also making huge plays. Thursday night he hit the following 3-pointer to send the game to overtime:

Then, in overtime and down by two, Harden hit this shot with one second left to win the game:

That’s just silly. The guy has been in the zone for weeks now and there’s no sign of it changing. What he’s doing right now is simply staggering.

If the season ended today, Harden would almost certainly be the league’s MVP.