"I just gave it all I had tonight,'' Harden said after Tuesday's contest. "We all did. We all fought for 48 minutes, we got key stops when we needed to and we made big shots.''Harden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to eclipse the 57 points Calvin Murphy scored in 1978 to break Houston's single-game scoring record. After Harden eclipsed the mark, cameras in the arena showed a shot of Murphy, who works on the television broadcast team, smiling and clapping for The Beard, who also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Rockets were down several key players for Tuesday's game. Chris Paul, who has a sore groin, and Trevor Ariza, who is dealing with a strained hamstring, both sat out. They lost another player when Eric Gordon, who is second on the team in scoring with 19.5 points a game, left early in the second quarter with lower back stiffness."I looked at Coach and said, 'Eric can't go,''' Harden said. "He said go get 'em. And after that, I didn't come out of the game.'' The game was tied at 107 after a basket by Magic forward Marreese Speights with just under four minutes to play. Neither team scored for more than two minutes after that -- until Harden took over, posting the next six points to make it 113-107 Jason Kelce Womens Jersey with 45 seconds left. He set the scoring mark when he stepped back and netted a 3-pointer before crashing to the court after being fouled by Mario Hezonja. He then made the free throw to give him 60 points and bring the crowd to its feet. "Amazing [and] topped it off with a four-point play at the end,'' Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "But we had to have every minute from him.''Harden, who also had four steals and a block, grabbed his 10th rebound a few seconds later to earn his third triple-double this season. He made 17 of 18 free throws and was 19-of-30 from the floor with five 3-pointers. He said he didn't realize he was the first player with 60 points in a triple-double. "It's a good feeling, I guess,'' he said. "Just try to go out there and make an impact every single night on the game, however I can. Whether it's scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, whatever it is. And tonight, I guess I was doing everything.''Harden's big night came as he played 46 minutes and 26 seconds -- representing a career high for a regulation game -- with Houston missing so many players. But with DeMarcus Cousins' Achilles injury paving a way for George into the game, the Thunder somehow wound up with the best of both worlds -- Westbrook made another impression on George, and now David Robinson Jersey George is in the game after all.hey'll head to L.A. together as All-Stars, with a stronger knot tied between them. They'll both be on Team LeBron, and it will be a week of bus rides to events, posing for pictures, trash-talking sessions in the locker room and showing off their sprouting chemistry. The Thunder have been playing two simultaneous games this season: embracing a potential one-year opportunity to build a contender capable of unseating the Golden State Warriors, while also not-so-subtly taking advantage of a running head start with George's recruitment.At the heart of both missions is Westbrook, the Thunder's MVP and top pitchman. The franchise already has made an impression on George, with him talking of "checking all the boxes," recalling personal moments like the entire organization showing up to his summer charity fishing tournament, to hyper-attentive staff support as http://www.officialnhlhockeyonline.com/TORONTO_MAPLE_LEAFS-c-1087_1122.html he adapted to a new city. It's Westbrook, though, who is the Thunder's ace in the hole. His vocal support isn't the first time George referenced the decision becoming "easier" -- George said the same after Westbrook signed a five-year extension with OKC in September. But Westbrook has been intent on building a relationship from the moment the trade went down. It started with a phone call the day of the deal, then turned into hours spent together at an OKC hotel lounge after George was officially welcomed with coronation party. Westbrook can be an acquired taste for some. The outside perception is he's an angry loner who plays only by his terms. George didn't know Westbrook before the trade, and didn't seek out any info from former teammates to get a better idea. He wanted a clean slate. Those who know Westbrook best often talk about his charm, his biting sense of humor, his attention to detail and unwavering commitment to the people who matter most to him -- family, friends, teammates. Just http://www.texasrangersprostore.com/WOMENS-JASON-GRILLI-JERSEY.html a few months in, those are the things George talks about. "And that's the most important thing to me is to be able to gain a relationship with people. Basketball stuff, that will come and that's short term, but brotherhood and friends, that's lifetime and for me I constantly try to find ways to learn different things about people, learn about their families, learn about their struggles, their journey." Where other teams fretted over George's uncertain future and dragged their feet at making a move last summer, the Thunder pursued it, risk and all. They were ready and willing to place a bet on what their culture could produce, unafraid to put themselves out there for a potential one-year superstar rental and summer heartbreak.More than anything, there was a trust in Westbrook, and as he has done time and again since the franchise became his two years ago, he answered the call.