HOUSTON -- James Harden has said he has never been about the stats. He doesn’t believe his status in the NBA is based on them.
But on Wednesday night, Harden reached a statistical milestone that even he had to take note of, tying Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon's franchise record with his 14th career triple-double in the Houston Rockets' 132-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Harden compiled 15 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.
The last of Olajuwon's triple-doubles came in 1997, when Harden was seven years old.
“He’s an all-time Rocket great, the best to ever do it and put on a Rockets uniform,” Harden said. “He’s one of the best to ever play basketball, period. It’s an honor. Credit to my teammates to help me, coaches -- just trying to win, that’s all.”
Wednesday night, Harden produced his triple-double while taking just seven shots, the fewest among Rockets starters. He didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, that’s pretty good,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “The biggest thing I’m happy with is we had 40 assists on, what, 50 buckets, so they’re sharing the ball.”
Harden also played just 29 minutes, 52 seconds, marking the second time in his career he recorded a triple-double while playing in fewer than 30 minutes. In April 2015, Harden scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 10 assists in 27 minutes against Utah.
It’s that type of efficiency that makes Harden so productive, given his passing abilities.
“When you have talented players around you, it’s easier to be efficient,” Harden said. “Credit my teammates: They’ve done an unbelievable job knocking down shots, doing the small things to help me as well.”
Houston's 40 assists -- on a night when the Kings had just 39 field goals -- marked the most assists by the team since it had 44 on Feb. 25, 1995, against Golden State. The Rockets almost tied another 3-point record, too. Their 22 made triples, including three by Harden, were one shy of tying the league record for most in a regular-season game.
Guess who has the record? Houston and Orlando.
And to add a little more perspective to Harden’s triple-double Wednesday, consider that after Olajuwon's 14th triple-double, he played in 283 more games, spanning five seasons. Harden, at 27, is very likely to play five more seasons, and considering he’s a guard, there’s no telling what type of numbers he will produce in that time.
“I think he’s the best player in the league,” Patrick Beverley said. “The best playmaker in the league. This year he came in with a different focus, a leadership role. He deserves a lot, lot, lot of credit for our success. We wouldn’t be in the position if it wasn’t for him. We understand that. This team has no egos. We go out there and do what we have to do to help him, and we’ve been helping him, and it’s been fun.”
