NEW ORLEANS — Historic scoring marks don’t really move James Harden all that much anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop putting them up.
On Monday, it was 39 points on the New Orleans Pelicans that bumped his scoring average to 37.3 through the first 10 games, the highest the league has seen through the first 10 games in the last 50 seasons.
“I just go out there and play basketball,” Harden said of his scoring. “Try to be assertive as I can. We’re really pissed about losing those three games, that’s what we’re thinking about [with the first 10 games]. I think defensively we’re getting better, we’ve been really good these last few games. And that’s our mindset, just continue to get better. Like individually I don’t care. I’ve done a lot of good things, pretty good things individually, so the most important thing is winning and finding ways to get better.”
The Rockets improved to 7-3 with a 122-116 win over the Pelicans. Harden scored 28 of his 39 after halftime — including 19 in the fourth quarter — and scored or assisted on 61 of Houston’s 91 points while he was on the floor.
“It’s go time,” Harden said. “Fourth quarter is winning time. So you’ve got to be more aggressive and make plays whenever they come to you, whether it’s my shot, getting to the basket or shooting my floater or making the right play.
“I wasn’t really getting to the rim the first three quarters, I was settling,” he said. “Kind of just being passive a little bit, so I wanted to be more aggressive. Whether it was shooting my shot, or getting to the basket, I was doing that.”
As is often the case, what makes Harden’s 37.3 average extra notable is who is now No. 2 on the list: Michael Jordan at 36.9 points per game through the first 10 games of the 1988-89 season.
“I don’t really keep up with my scoring or not,” Harden said, “I just know in the fourth quarter it’s time to be aggressive, or find certain things I can be aggressive at that can help my teammates get shots off and score as well.”
Harden started the season slowly — by his standards — scoring 19 in the opener, and 29 in game two. The last eight games, he’s averaging 40.6 a game, highlighted by 59 against Memphis.
“To me, he’s the most difficult matchup in the league,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.
Harden has won the last two scoring titles, with his 36.1 average last season being the highest since Jordan averaged 37.1 in 1986-87. If there were any thoughts the scoring may dip after integrating new teammate Russell Westbrook — a two-time scoring champ himself — there’s been no slowing down for Harden.
However, the Rockets have played their best this season when the two don’t share the floor. With Harden on and Westbrook sitting, Houston is plus-13 and they’re a plus-10 with Westbrook on and Harden off. But when the play together the Rockets are a minus-17, though that number is heavily influenced by a recent blowout loss to the Heat where they trailed 46-14 after the first quarter.
“We’re still just trying to feel it out and get better,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I’m just a little worried about, we just make some bonehead plays and that’s not going well.”