James Harden Matches Kobe Bryant Record; Also Has Historically Bad Shooting Game

Kobe Bryant won the 2010 NBA Finals MVP award despite shooting 6-of-24 from the field in Game 7, so it feels appropriate James Harden tied one of his accomplishments despite a lackluster shooting performance.

Harden tallied 38 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in Sunday's 116-109 loss to the Orlando Magic, tying Bryant's record of 16 consecutive 30-plus-point games even though he shot 11-of-32 from the field and an ugly 1-of-17 from deep.

ESPN.com noted Harden also tied Damon Stoudamire's record of the most three-pointers missed in a game. Stoudamire also missed 16 in an April 2005 game against the Golden State Warriors when he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Houston Rockets are just 2-3 in their last five games and occupy the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

Even with Harden's record scoring totals, they already have one more loss than they did all of last regular season when they were the No. 1 seed before a run to the Western Conference Finals.