James Harden and Daryl Morey try to make a winning MVP case against Russell Westbrook.

James Harden embraces the MVP debate. (AP)

On a weekend when James Harden’s 21st triple-double of the season was completely overshadowed by Russell Westbrook’s historic night, the Houston Rockets tried making their MVP case for the former.

Westbrook passed Oscar Robertson’s 55-year-old single-season record of 41 triple-doubles, scored 50 points and capped it all with a game-winning buzzer beater from 36 feet that eliminated the Denver Nuggets from playoff contention. It was the sort of throat-ripping effort we’ve become accustomed to from the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar — and a not-so-subtle reminder of his MVP candidacy.

Meanwhile, Harden dropped 35 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds in a win over the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings. Neither the Rockets (54-26) or Thunder (46-34) advanced their playoff stature, since they’re locked into the third and sixth seeds, respectively. And that’s kind of Houston’s whole point.


By Ben Rohrbach.
Full story at Yahoo News.