James Harden drops 49 points vs Mavericks in style, NBA fans left stunned

Houston Rockets star James Harden led his side to victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night with a staggering 49 points. Luka Doncic's 15th triple-double and a 39-point outing from Kristaps Porzingis went in vain as Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 153-149 in overtime at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Arena. Fans on social media were left in awe following James Harden's stellar display against the Mavericks as Houston rallied to come from behind to force the game into overtime and eventually clinch the win. 

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Mavericks vs Rockets: How things unfolded

The opening quarter for the Mavericks vs Rockets game saw fireworks as the scorecard read 42 points apiece for both teams at the end of the first 12 minutes of play. The second quarter began with the Mavericks taking control of the proceedings as they took the lead with the scoreboard reading 85-75 at the end of the first half while James Harden was resting. It was the first game to have seen 160 points being scored after two quarters since Denver Nuggets at Rockets on November 6, 1990.

James Harden got into the groove in the second half of the quarter as the Rockets rallied to cut the deficit to one with the scoreboard reading 96-97 at the end of the third quarter. The high-scoring game was tied at 139 points each by Robert Covington's late surge with overtime to follow. Harden once again grabbed the limelight as he made one of two free throws with just 15 seconds on the clock to earn a vital 153-149 win for the Rockets. 

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Mavericks vs Rockets: James Harden points and stats

James Harden scored nearly one-third of the entire Rockets points against the Mavericks as he put in another superb shift on Friday night. The 30-year-old got 49 points on 14-of-20 shooting, also claiming eight assists and nine rebounds. In the first quarter itself, Harden scored 23 points. James Harden also made three blocks in the game to round off a sensational performance. Harden's display last night led to some social media fans joking about the Rockets star possibly not being human. Houston's Twitter account labelled Harden a 'beast'. 

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NBA live scores: NBA standings

The win for the Rockets moved them to fifth place in the NBA standings in the Western Conference and ensured qualification for the playoffs. Defeat for the Dallas Mavericks pushed them into seventh place. However, the Mavericks still have seven games remaining to qualify for the play-offs. 

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Image Credits - Houston Rockets Twitter