‘In the Garden, I’ll Take it’: James Harden Drops 61 on the Knicks

James Harden torched the New York Knicks to the tune of a career-high 61 points Wednesday night, falling a point shy of Carmelo Anthony‘s scoring record for MSG.

Harden’s explosion—which included fifteen rebounds, four assists and five steals—led the visiting Houston Rockets to a 114-110 win.

The NBA’s reigning MVP and leading scorer notched his fifth 50-point game of the season.

Per the AP:

On another spectacular night for the NBA’s most sensational scorer, Harden not only notched his career high with 61 points, but tied Bryant’s record for a visiting player at the current Madison Square Garden.

“In the Garden, I’ll take it,” Harden said.

A day after saying he hadn’t yet experienced his Madison Square Garden moment, Harden finished 17 of 38 from the floor. He was only 5 of 20 on 3-pointers but was 22 of 25 from the line and grabbed 15 rebounds in front of a crowd that cheered some of his long jumpers but then booed after he drew foul after foul.

“They couldn’t figure out what they wanted to do,” Harden said. “But I appreciate them though, honestly. Tonight they kept me going and made the game exciting for me.”

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