Harden passes Rudy T on franchise points list
With his season-high 43 points in Wednesday night’s 126-124 victory over the Pistons at Toyota Center, Rockets guard
James Harden moved past Rudy Tomjanovich into third place in scoring in franchise history with 13,391 points.
Harden, 29, who holds the franchise single-game record of 60 points and per-game average of 27.9 points, is on pace to pass
Calvin Murphy for second place in the 2020-21 season. He trails Murphy’s 17,949 points by 4,559.
But he is a long way from Hakeem Olajuwon’s franchise record of 26,511 points with the Rockets.
“We all know how great he (Tomjanovich) was in the league and for this team,” Harden said. “It’s an honor. I got a long way to go to catch Dream.
“Calvin knows I’m coming for it. You have to give all those guys credit. They paved the way for me. They set the standard high. It motivates me every single day to want to catch those guys and be as great as them.”
Harden on Wednesday also tied his franchise record for free throws in a game without a miss, going 19-for-19.
Capela matches Dream feat
After an inconsistent start to the season, center
Clint Capela has been on the best scoring roll of his career during the Rockets’ five-game winning streak, averaging 20.4 points on 73.8 percent shooting, 11.4 rebounds and two blocked shots.
The NBA leader in fieldgoal percentage last sea- son when he made 65.2 percent of his attempts, Capela connected on 23 of 28 shots in the past two games to move to fourth, at 64.5 percent this season.
On Wednesday, he had a season-high 27 points with 15 rebounds and four blocked shots after collecting 23 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots against the Kings on Saturday. He became the first Rockets player with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in consecutive games since Hakeem
Olajuwon in November 1993.
“Good,” Capela said of putting up numbers that are reminiscent of Olajuwon. “Honestly, I’m just using my qualities. This is what I do on the court. Last two games were good. So, I’m good, we’re winning, too, so it’s all good. (We) just got to stay focused and keep having fun.”