Dreaming back to the Rockets! Harden scored 55 points in 36 minutes, 27 points in the first quarter + 35 points in the half, breaking seven major records

Just like this, in the early morning of November 23, there were three unexpected news about the Los Angeles Clippers. The first is that Paul announced that this is the last season of his career, and CP3 will officially retire after this season.

The second news is that Leonardo will finally come back again, but before his comeback, the Clippers still have to rely on Harden to lead the team alone.

The third news is Harden's incredible performance in an away game against the Hornets in the early morning of the 23rd.

In the first quarter of the game, the Hornets chose to cut off the connection between Harden and his teammates as much as possible on the defensive end. Against this background, Harden was on full fire. He played the entire first quarter and completely ignored the opponent's individual defense. He made 9 of 12 in a single quarter, including 5 of 7 three-pointers and 4 of 6 free throws, scoring 27 points.

Even so, Harden's score was still lower than that of the entire Hornets team. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led the Hornets 38-30.

After reappearing in the second quarter, the Hornets chose to double-team Harden crazily. Even so, Deng still made 3 of 5 shots in the second quarter and scored 8 points in a single quarter.

At halftime, Harden scored 35 points and only had 1 rebound and 1 assist. The Clippers led the Hornets 62-57 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Clippers finally "got back on track." Harden sent out 5 assists in a single quarter. While leading his teammates to score, Harden's three-pointer from the top of the arc also caused the opponent to foul, scoring 4 points in one round. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers led 96-82.

With 7 minutes left in the last quarter, Harden reappeared and the Clippers still led by 16 points. As soon as he came on the court, Harden caused a foul and made two free throws. In the next round, Brother Deng scored another three-pointer. With 3 minutes left in the final quarter, Harden clocked out with a perfect three-pointer. In the end, the Clippers defeated the Hornets 131-116. Harden's statistics stayed at 35 minutes and 13 seconds, making 17 of 26 shots, including 10 of 16 three-pointers, 11 of 14 free throws, and scored 55 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists.

In this game, Harden created many milestones and records.

First of all, 27 points in the first quarter tied Harden's career first-quarter scoring record, which was set against the Spurs on March 23, 2019.

Secondly, the 27 points in the first quarter tied the Clippers player's historical single-quarter scoring record, which was previously set by Lu Wei.

Third, at the end of the first half, Harden scored 35 points, which is also a new high for any player in the first half in the 2025-26 season.

Fourth, in NBA history, only three players have previously been able to score 35 points in a half after the age of 35, namely Kobe Bryant in 2016, Crawford in 2019, Curry in 2025, and Harden today.

Fifth, this is the 32nd time in Harden's career that he has scored 30+ points in a half. He continues to rank first in NBA history, followed by Kobe Bryant who has scored 28 times.

Sixth, Harden scored 43 points after three quarters, which also created a new scoring high for Harden this season.

Seventh, Harden's 55 points in this game have tied the season high of all players this season.