Harden drops 57 to pass Kobe with 17th straight 30-point game

James Harden passed Kobe Bryant on Monday for the longest streak of games with 30 or more points since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.

After scoring 36 points in the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies, Harden finished the game with a season-high 57 - outscoring the combined output of his Houston Rockets teammates by two points. It's his third 50-point performance this season. He had a career-high 60 points in a single contest last season.

With the Rockets badly banged up, the superstar was a one-man show Monday, tying his season-low for assists with just two. Houston won handily, 112-94.

Harden's 17 straight games of 30-plus points now stands as the longest such streak since Wilt Chamberlain reached the mark 20 consecutive times in 1964.