The Houston Rockets narrowly defeated the New York Knicks by a score of 114 to 110 on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

Over the past 10 games, James Harden aka “The Beard” has been simply monstrous, averaging over 50 points per game.  That continued in his play against the Knicks with a more than impressive stat line of 61 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.

This season, Harden has been averaging 36.3 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and 8.3 assists per game. This has put him in the early lead of the MVP race, with Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis trailing behind in 2nd and 3rd place.

The Rockets are 5th in the Western Conference with a record of 27 wins and 20 losses. They are currently six games back from first place, with the Golden State Warriors leading the pack.

Rockets’ point guard Chris Paul is currently out with hamstring injury, causing Harden to step up and play the point. Already carrying the scoring load with Paul in the lineup, Harden faced a new challenge of distributing and creating more opportunities for his teammates. Needless to say, he is fitting into the role quite nicely.