NBA superstar James Harden dazzled a sellout Stan Sheriff Center crowd of about 10,000 Thursday night with 37 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in just three periods of action to lead the Houston Rockets past the Los Angeles Clippers, 109-96, in entertaining preseason action.
Harden, a unanimous All-NBA First Team selection, played 28-plus minutes and put on a steady and spectacular show filled with many flashes of his seemingly effortless brilliance.
Barely 80 seconds into the game, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Harden darted through the left side of the lane, took off for a layup, somehow double-pumped in mid-air while waiting for leaping defenders to descend, then tossed up a vertical shot that climbed three feet above the rim before dropping straight down through the net.