Chronicle Editor
HOUSTON ROCKETS’ James Harden recorded his 31st consecutive 30-point game yesterday, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in the NBA.
Harden, 29, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, scored 42 points in a 121-111 defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Chamberlain, who also holds the top position, scored at least 30 points in 65 consecutive games in 1961-62, his run of 31 started that same season.
Thursday night also marked Harden’s 22nd 40-point game of the season.
No other player in the NBA has more than seven 40-point games.
The Rockets, who are currently fifth in the Western Conference, have won 16 of their games when Harden scores 40 points.
His 30-point streak, which started on 13 December, looked in doubt after he finished the first quarter with just five points, but an emphatic 15-point second quarter followed and he hit the 30-point mark in the third quarter.
Harden faces a week-long wait in his bid to pass Chamberlain, with the Rockets returning from the All Star break on 21 February to face LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers.
Chamberlain’s record 65-game run was ended on 24 February, 1962 when the Boston Celtics held him to just 26 points. The next day he scored 67 to start a 31-game streak of 30-point games. — BBC Sport
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