It started like this back in 2009, with a barely recognizable rookie James Harden — with a young man’s beard — scoring his first NBA points.
Saturday night in Minnesota it came full circle when Harden, with a third-quarter free throw, moved past Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony — his former Houston Rockets teammate — into 10th on the NBA’s all-time points scored list.
Harden scored 34 points on Saturday night, giving him 28,303 for his career.
“Blessing. A testament to the work I’ve put in,” Harden said postgame, via the Associated Press. “It’s an honor, especially with somebody like Melo who’s done so much greatness for this league.”
Harden, who grew up in Southern California and went to Artesia High School before moving on to Arizona State and the NBA, shouted out those roots postgame, via Law Murray at The Athletic.
_“We’re talking about NBA history,” Harden said. “As a kid growing up, watching Kobe and Shaq and all those guys … shooting Kobe fadeaways. And now, it’s like, number two on the all-time 3-point list, crack the top 10. I’m blessed. I’m grateful.”_
Unfortunately, it was not enough. The Clippers led the majority of the first three quarters, by as many as 18 points, but gave it up in the fourth and fell to Minnesota 109-106. Jaden McDaniels scored 27 and Julius Randle 24 to lead the Timberwolves.