Houston Rockets: Top 5 moments from James Harden’s MVP campaign

3. The 56-point outing vs. Jazz

Just two days after LeBron James poured in 57 points against the Washington Wizards, Harden turned in one of the most impressive shooting performances ever against one of the league’s top defenses.

In an early season showdown against the Utah Jazz, Harden poured in a game-high 56 points on 19-for-25 shooting from the field, while dishing out 13 assists to lead the Rockets to a 137-110 win on Nov. 5 at the Toyota Center.

"“That was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen,” Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon said following the aftermath of Harden’s 56-point explosion. “He was picking them apart and not just with scoring.” “What else can you do?”"

Although the contest marked the sixth 50-point game of Harden’s career, The Beard put together a night that is rarely duplicated by some of the game’s most superior marksmen, as he became the first player since Michael Jordan to score 50 points or more on 25 shots or less.

In addition, he joined the legendary Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to ever record a 50-point, 10-assist stat line and shoot at least 75 percent in a game, as Harden made his first 10 shots on the contest.

He also scored 54 of his 56 points through the first three quarters of play alone, as the MVP was able to sketch his name alongside of some of the greatest players to ever play the game and give Rockets fans a show long before the race for the award began to heat up.