James Harden just matched one of Larry Bird’s impressive career stats
In October 2013, James Harden stopped by the Indiana Pacers practice to pay his respects to Larry Bird, telling the Celtics legend, “I have a long way to go to catch you.”
On Sunday night, the Rockets star caught up to Bird in at least one statistical category. Harden used his step-back three to dazzling effect against the Denver Nuggets, going 6-of-10 from distance on his way to 41 points.
Last night was James Harden’s 47th 40-point game, matching Larry Bird’s career total https://t.co/vk30YbayJb pic.twitter.com/U6v7xCnckB
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) February 26, 2018
Houston’s 119-114 win on the road was Harden’s 47th 40-point game, an accomplishment that matched Larry Bird’s career total. While the Celtics legend remains 100 spots above Harden on the all-time scoring list, the Beard did reach 47 40-point games much quicker than Bird.
The Rockets star and Bird are now tied at number 16 on the all-time list for most 40-point games, but Harden reached the marker in 230 fewer games. Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Durant hold the spot above them, with 49 40-point games respectively. If Harden wants to climb to the top of the list and surpass Michael Jordan’s record, he will need to replicate Sunday’s performance a mere 127 more times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7RTbMiF0w
