Los Angeles Lakers: James Harden foul situation started trending against LA

The 30-point scoring streak started with a “50 Cent” concert against the Lakers

By December had rolled around the Rockets were in a world of trouble. Their record was terrible as they were languishing in 14th place in the Western Conference (Hard to believe, I know), the Carmelo Anthony experiment was a disaster and most had written them off. Then there was the Lakers game.

James Harden made history by being the only player to ring up a 50-point triple-double four times in NBA history. In 35 minutes, the reigning MVP surgically took apart the Lakers defense dropping 50 points, dishing out 11 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds.

What made this even more amazing is the he went to free-throw line and put on a clinic hitting 18-of-19. I knew that the Lakers would be in trouble after watching two back to back possessions. It gave TNT’s Chris Webber a screaming fit.

James Harden basically destroyed every Lakers player that tried to guard him. This was the night that the controversy of the Harden calls started. The Lakers complained about the 19 free throws and it became the lead story the next day about the same narratives that are being discussed now.

Watch where LeBron James feet end up after this shot…

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1073420776114716677

This was the game that started the greatest scoring streak in NBA history. James Harden went on to break the late great Wilt Chamberlain’s record with the most consecutive 30 point games. This was the game that catapulted the Rockets on a run that got them as high as the second seed before settling into the fourth seed.