James Harden notches 53 points, massive triple-double (Video)

James Harden ended 2016 the right way as he scored 53 points and notched a triple-double that the NBA has never seen before

On Friday, Dec. 30, Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden had a fantastic night on the hardwood. The bearded one went for 30 points on his way to a triple-double. He’s been thriving all year in the system of new head coach Mike D’Antoni, but Friday was one of his better games of the season. However, they then welcomed the New York Knicks to town on Saturday night for New Year’s Eve—and Harden proceeded to blow his previous night’s work out of the water.

Harden absolutely exploded in every way possible. It felt like he had a hand on virtually anything and everything that the Rockets did throughout the night. And, in the end, he finished with a stat-line the likes that have never been seen before—literally.

To set the stage, you only need to look at what Harden did to the Knicks in the first half. The Arizona State product was absolutely unconscious. After just 24 minutes of play, he’s notched 24 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. Yes, he was just shy of a massive triple-double in the first half alone:

The Rockets star was far from done right there, though. In fact, he was just getting started. Harden would go on to add 29 more points to his total while also adding seven more assists and seven additional rebounds. All told, Harden finished the night going 14-of-26 from the field, 9-of-16 from three (a career-high in makes), and 16-of-18 from the foul line for 53 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds.

Per Elias Sports, Harden became the first player in NBA history to notch a 50-15-15 triple-double, something that can’t be discredited. Even making it more impressive, the Rockets guard tied the ineffable Wilt Chamberlain for the most points in a triple-double in league history.

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Much of the talk about the 2016-17 season through two months has been about Russell Westbrook, and rightfully so. However, don’t dismiss his former teammate in James Harden. The guard has Houston thriving under D’Antoni and he himself looks better and more dangerous than ever. And if you need proof, just go check out that stat-line from New Year’s Eve once again.