2015 NBA scores: James Harden’s career-high 51 points beats DeMarcus Cousins, Kings

Cousins notched a triple-double, but it wasn’t enough to top Harden, who made yet another MVP statement.

Apr 2, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen Curry has been throwing haymakers in the MVP race, and one was delivered on Tuesday night against the Clippers when Curry went for 27 points and made Chris Paul look like a fool. James Harden only shrugged and proceeded to respond with a career-high 51 points in a 115-111 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night.

Harden had 16 points in the first quarter, 24 at halftime and 41 by the end of the third quarter. The Rockets led by 11 at the end of the third quarter and 14 at the outset of the fourth quarter after a three by Terrence Jones, who returned after missing two weeks with a collapsed lung. If Houston had continued to extend the lead with Harden on the bench, his night could have been done.

But the Kings made a push to get within six points, prompting Rockets head coach Kevin McHale to go back to his superstar. The margin shrunk to two before eight straight Harden points created some much-needed separation. Several minutes later, he got his 50th and 51st points at the free throw line, setting that new career high.

Harden got his 51 by shooting 16-of-25 overall, 8-of-9 from three and 11-of-13 from the free throw line:

Harden gets his 51 on 25 shots. Fourth player ever with 11 fts and 8 3-pointers in same game, joining LeBron James, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 2, 2015

In addition to his hot shooting, Harden had eight boards, six assists and three steals. He also had seven turnovers, but we’ll forgive him for those miscues. This was Harden’s second 50-point game in the last two weeks and the ninth time he has gone for at least 40 points, the most in the NBA.

Harden was so good that he completely overshadowed a monster performance by DeMarcus Cousins, who not only had a 20-20 game, but a 20-20 game that was also a triple-double. Cousins finished with 24 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, six blocks and three steals, giving him his second career triple-double. It certainly helped that Dwight Howard didn't play, but it was impressive nonetheless.

But back to the Rockets. The win evened Houston up with Memphis in the standings, as both squads are 51-24. The fact that the Rockets are in this position despite all the injuries is a testament to Harden’s greatness, and it’s why I currently have him as MVP.

3 other things we learned

No tired legs for Clippers: The Clippers lost a tough one at home against the Warriors on Tuesday, and things weren't going to be any easier on the second night of a back-to-back on the road in Portland. Los Angeles could have easily packed up and gone home after falling behind by 19 points in the first half, but instead, the exact opposite happened. Led by an MVP-esque performance from Chris Paul, the Clippers stormed back and came away with a 126-122 victory.

Paul finished with 41 points, 17 assists and just one turnover while shooting 13-of-21 overall and 5-of-9 from three. 25 of those points came in the second half as Los Angeles shot 57 percent as a team in the half. If the Clippers had tired legs, it certainly didn’t show, and it was actually the Blazers who petered out as the game wore on. After shooting 61 percent in the first half, Portland shot less than 40 percent in the second half. The Clippers are now a game better than the Blazers in the standings (tied in the loss column), which is big for home-court advantage purposes. Even though Portland will likely get the No. 4 seed by virtue of winning its division, Los Angeles would get home-court advantage even as the No. 5 seed if they finish with a better record.

The Thunder's defense is atrocious: Enes Kanter has been great offensively for Oklahoma City. Kanter was great again against the Mavericks, notching a career-high 30 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Russell Westbrook had another triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Anthony Morrow had 32 points and Dion Waiters had 19 points. So the Thunder won, right? Wrong, because their defense is an abomination, and Kanter's inability to protect the rim is a big reason why.

Dallas scored a whopping 72 points in the paint in a 135-131 triumph over Oklahoma City, and the Mavericks shot 72 percent in the paint, per NBA.com. Dallas shot more than 68 percent in the fourth quarter, with 22 of 34 points coming in the paint. The victory moved seventh-seeded Dallas four games ahead of eighth-seeded Oklahoma City, and the Thunder are just 1.5 games ahead of the Pelicans, who smashed the Lakers, 113-92. Ryan Anderson had 17 points in his first game back after missing over a month with a knee injury.

Nets barely hang on to playoff spot: The Nets had won four straight games heading into their rivalry game against the Knicks, and after three quarters, it looked like Brooklyn would cruise to an easy win. However, New York made a fourth-quarter charge and tied the game with just more than a minute left. The teams traded empty possessions, but Brook Lopez played the hero on his birthday, scoring on a putback of his own miss in the waning moments to give the Nets a two-point lead. After a Cleanthony Early three missed everything, Brooklyn had its fifth consecutive win and a tie in the standings with seventh-seeded Miami.

The win was an important one for the Nets, because the Celtics were primed to move up in the standings thanks to a 100-87 victory over Indiana. Evan Turner notched his third triple-double of the season, while Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points off the bench despite a nasty black eye that came courtesy of an elbow in shootaround. For the Pacers, the loss dropped them behind the Hornets, who took the Pistons behind the woodshed in a 102-78 victory.

Play of the Night

There was a surprising shortage of great plays on the night given the amount of action, so we'll go with Kevin Seraphin meeting Nerlens Noel at the rim and coming out on top.