<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cCAFdBWuNhw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> James Harden, in his Houston Rockets debut since being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder, scores 37 points on 14-25 shooting, dishes 12 assists, grabs 5 boards and picks 4 steals against the Detroit Pistons on 10/31/2012. James Harden agreed to a big new contract extension -- and he certainly looked worth it in his first game with the Houston Rockets. Harden had 37 points and 12 assists in a stirring debut for his new team, and Carlos Delfino made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to lift the Rockets to a 105-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Detroit led 83-72 early in the fourth, but Harden and Delfino brought the Rockets back. Houston acquired Harden on Saturday night in a trade with Oklahoma City and agreed Wednesday on a five-year, $80 million contract extension with him. "I think I just wanted to get out there and play," Harden said. "All the talking and all the craziness that has been happening this last week -- I just wanted to go out there and play basketball." The reigning Sixth Man of the Year fell just short of his career high of 40 points, and his 12 assists were a career best. Not bad for a guy still adjusting to new teammates and a new situation. Harden started only seven games in three seasons in Oklahoma City, as he developed into an indispensable reserve. But he was in the starting lineup Wednesday and looked ready to play a bigger role with Houston. "I just tried to score and create opportunities," Harden said. "Carlos Delfino came in hot. I just tried to get my bigs involved. A lot of different guys stepped up, and I think that's how it's going to be throughout this entire season." Jeremy Lin, Houston's other big acquisition, had 12 points and eight assists. The Rockets won without Patrick Patterson, who was out with a left quad strain. Brandon Knight led Detroit with 15 points. With Houston down 11 points, Harden started the comeback with a 3-pointer, and Greg Smith followed with a dunk. Detroit led only 85-83 after consecutive 3-pointers by Delfino, then a layup by Chandler Parsons tied it. Smith dunked to put the Rockets ahead 89-87, and he dunked again to make it a four-point game before hobbling off with what he later said was a minor left foot injury. By then, Houston was already taking control of the game behind its two new playmakers, Harden and Lin. "They're very smart players. You've got to give credit to them," Smith said. "They know what they're doing on the court. They're very intelligent." A dunk by Detroit's Jonas Jerebko cut the lead to two, but Delfino made two more 3-pointers to make it 97-89. Harden pretty much put the game away with a three-point play with 1:27 remaining that put Houston ahead 104-94. "They keep it so simple as far as just spreading it out and letting him create," Detroit's Rodney Stuckey said. "Pick and rolls, that's pretty much what got us. They did a good job of spreading us out. He was getting in the lane, making shots and finding his teammates and they were making shots, too." Attendance was announced at 16,646 at the Palace, and there were plenty of empty seats on Halloween. The fans who did turn out saw an entertaining performance by the Pistons that ultimately fell short. Harden scored 19 points in the first half, but Detroit led 58-55 after a 36-point second quarter. "I thought it was a challenge for James to kind of figure out what we were doing," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We put some plays in that he was comfortable with that they ran at Oklahoma City." The Rockets led 65-58 after Harden's two-handed dunk off a nice one-handed bounce pass from Lin. The Pistons looked terrific for the rest of the quarter. They scored 13 straight points -- including consecutive dunks by Greg Monroe and Jason Maxiell -- to take a 71-65 lead. A 3-pointer by Harden cut the deficit to two, but Detroit ran off another eight straight points and led 79-69 following a basket by Kyle Singler. It was 81-72 after three quarters. Game notes Detroit's Corey Maggette was out with a left calf strain. ... There was a brief delay near the end of the second quarter when what looked like steam began coming out of a generator behind one of the baskets. ... Stuckey went 1 for 10 from the field. ... Pistons owner Tom Gores was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of the team someday playing in downtown Detroit. "You don't want to leave and say, `Nice to see you, the Palace.' I don't think you want to do that," Gores said. "If the future is downtown and that's what we have to do to grow, I'm not against that."
I was completely skeptical of his talent prior to trading for him. Then he put up two monstrous games in the first games as a Rocket and I was sold on his ability & eventual ceiling.
Here are the Rockets that played that night ... just over 2 years ago (this is amazing) : STARTERS James Harden Marcus Morris Chandler Parsons Omer Asik Jeremy Lin OTHERS Greg Smith Toney Douglas Carlos Delfino Daequan Cook
I never realised how thin he was back then and how quick he use to play, his game is so much more suited to a slower pace now
That's one of my favorite games in years watching Harden go full "F You" mode on the Thunder for trading him. I was hoping he'd be a Top 20 player at best. Never thought he'd be this good.
My fear was that he was going to be like Joe Johnson. To be fair, JJ was pretty darn good his first year in Atlanta.
Honestly, at first I thought we gave up too much for Harden but he proved me wrong after the first two games.
No I certainly didn't. Mainly because it would've been tough to beat out Lebron, Durant, CP3 and Kobe. Crazy to see how it's turned out with Curry and Harden being the front runners
Yeah, me too. Crazy how quick he used to be. Not saying he's not quick now, but he used to be crazy quick before.
I did't have chicks in high school , nor played basketball but damn I was right about Harden from the beginin'
Yep, I'll never froget, it was Halloween night 2012. I just stayed home at night in front of my computer ( first game of the the CSN debacle) and was just amazed by his performance. Even after watching that game, I never thought he would reach to the level he as today. Please Morey, surround this man with some players!!!
To be fair, we did have Patrick Patterson but he was out. And I would take a healthy Delfino on this current team any day of the week! But to answer OP's question, I don't think anyone did, even after his debut and the game after where he scored 45 on ATL. He literally exploded out of nowhere. When we got Harden, I knew he was going to be a good player. I expected him to average 23ppg, 5rpg, 5apg. Be a player that was good but not great. I would have never thought he would be a 27ppg, 7apg, 6rpg player, capable of dropping 40+ on any given night on anyone. Even at the start of this season I didn't think his play was going to last, to be honest. I thought he was going to be the Paul George of 2013-2014; blazing "MVP" type start then fizzle back to his averages as the season passes. Remember how everyone was hyping George as the MVP frontrunner and 3rd best player in the NBA (after LBJ and KD) at the start of last year and by the end of the season, he wasn't even mentioned as an MVP candidate? I thought Harden was going to be something like that; starts as an MVP frontrunner then fizzle back to 5th or 6th, yet here he is gaining MVP recognition by the day. Harden is slowly becoming a generational type player. Players that defy a generation of basketball. The Analytic generation of the NBA is going to be defined by James Harden. Don't tell Chuck.. :grin: