James Harden Goes off for 60 Points as Rockets Rout Trae Young, Hawks 158-111

Michael Wyke/Associated Press

The Houston Rockets came out on top 158-111 over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at the Toyota Center.

It marked Houston's largest margin of victory and Atlanta's second-largest deficit of defeat this season, having lost to the Los Angeles Clippers by 49 points on Nov. 16.

The Hawks never stood a chance as the Rockets raced to a 38-21 lead by the end of the first quarter, and it just got worse for Atlanta from there.

The Rockets were led by James Harden‘s season-high 60 points and shot 58.4 percent from the field (49.0 percent from three) as a team. The damage would have been worse, but Houston opted not to play Harden or Russell Westbrook in the fourth quarter.

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The Hawks have lost 10 consecutive contests and fell to 4-16, while the Rockets kept pace in a competitive Western Conference at 13-6.

Notable Stats

HOU G James Harden: 60 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block

HOU G Russell Westbrook: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists

HOU G Ben McLemore: 24 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

HOU F PJ Tucker: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists

ATL G Trae Young: 37 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists

ATL F >De'Andre Hunter: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

ATL F Jabari Parker: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

James Harden Routs Atlanta's 26th-Ranked Defense

Harden has now scored at least 30 points in 15 of 19 games this season, and the 30-year-old All-Star hit the 30-point mark before halftime against the Hawks:

NBA @NBA

🔥🔥🔥 James Harden steps back to get to 31 1st half PTS (10-14 FGM)! #OneMission https://t.co/ulrFvhjQGH

The Hawks double-teamed Harden as soon as he crossed half court throughout the evening, but it made no difference. Few defenses have been able to contain Harden, who entered Saturday as the NBA‘s leading scorer at 37.7 points per game.

Brad Rowland @BTRowland

James Harden has 46 points.

The Hawks have 59 points.

In the calendar year 2019, eight of the 10 highest-scoring games in the league belong to Harden:

Tommy Beer @TommyBeer

The ten highest-scoring games of 2019:

1. James Harden: 61
2. James Harden: 61
3. James Harden: 60
4. Damian Lillard: 60
5. Devin Booker: 59
6. James Harden: 59
7. James Harden: 58
8. James Harden: 58
9. James Harden: 57
10. James Harden: 57

The 2017-18 NBA MVP had drained eight threes and secured a 50-burger at the midway point of the third quarter before finishing the period with 60 points—a new season high—against the Hawks. He finished one short of his season-high mark of nine threes in a game, but it's safe to presume that was only because he sat the fourth quarter.

NBA @NBA

After scoring 31 in the 1st half… @JHarden13 erupts for 29 3rd quarter PTS to get to 6⃣0⃣ POINTS before the 4th! #OneMission https://t.co/P911psaPmS

The Beard's prolific performance more than made up for the fact that Westbrook scored 15 points, his second-lowest scoring game this season. Harden was able to keep Westbrook involved, though:

Houston Rockets @HoustonRockets

𝗥𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗫 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗘 https://t.co/Be1ETf4RGT

Harden did what an all-time scorer is supposed to do against subpar competition. But it's worth noting that on Nov. 20 against the Denver Nuggets—the league's top-rated defense, per NBA.com—Harden still managed to score 27 points on 50 percent shooting.

With Westbrook now in the fold, it's hard to say that Houston will ultimately live and die by Harden's scoring. However, the Rockets are 1-3 this year when Harden scores fewer than 30 points.

What's Next?

The Hawks will head back to Atlanta and host the 4-16 Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

The Rockets will stay in Texas but travel to 7-13 San Antonio to face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.