Record-breaking James Harden on fire again as he bags career-best 61 points to fire Houston Rockets past the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden James Harden produced a brilliant, record-breaking display for Houston Rockets Star man scored career-best 61 points in 114-110 win over the New York Knicks He tied Kobe Bryant's record for a visiting opponent at Madison Square Garden Harden also passed Wilt Chamberlain into fourth place in NBA history with his 21st consecutive 30-point game. Chamberlain holds all three longer streaksBy Brian Mahoney, Ap Published: 09:13 GMT, 24 January 2019 | Updated: 09:21 GMT, 24 January 2019 Viewcomments James Harden inched past Wilt Chamberlain and didn't stop his latest one-man show until he'd tied Kobe Bryant. On another spectacular night for the NBA's most sensational scorer, Harden not only notched his career high with 61 points, but tied Bryant's record for a visiting player at the current Madison Square Garden. 'In the Garden, I'll take it,' Harden said... and the Rockets sure needed it. James Harden of the Houston Rockets celebrates at the buzzer after securing the victory Harden scored a career-best 61 points as the Rockets narrowly beat the New York Knicks Harden scored 30+ points in a game for the 21st time in a row, moving fourth in NBA records Harden made the clinching layup with 3.8 seconds remaining after the Knicks turned it over, and the Rockets edged the New York Knicks 114-110 on Wednesday night. With his final basket, Harden capped his fifth 50-point game this season and a wild stretch of back-and-forth basketball across the final minutes. 'The way we played in the last six minutes, maybe four minutes, we set basketball back at least 10 years,' Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. 'It was mind-boggling the things we just did. We got the win.' Eric Gordon made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left when Houston couldn't get the ball to Harden, the NBA's leading scorer who earlier had passed Chamberlain into fourth place in NBA history with his 21st consecutive 30-point game. A day after saying he hadn't yet experienced his Madison Square Garden moment, Harden finished 17 of 38 from the floor. He was only 5 of 20 on 3-pointers but was 22 of 25 from the line and grabbed 15 rebounds in front of a crowd that cheered some of his long jumpers but then booed after he drew foul after foul. 'They couldn't figure out what they wanted to do,' Harden said. 'But I appreciate them though, honestly. Tonight they kept me going and made the game exciting for me.' Harden was too strong for struggling New York Knicks, who lost for the 15th time in 16 games Wilt Chamberlain currently holds three highest 30-point game streaks, with 65 the best ever MOST CONSECUTIVE 30-POINT GAMES 1) Wilt Chamberlain - 65 2) Wilt Chamberlain - 31 3) Wilt Chamberlain - 25 4) James Harden - 21 5) Wilt Chamberlain - 20 Carmelo Anthony holds the overall record at the current MSG with 62 points. Rookie Allonzo Trier scored a season-high 31 points for the Knicks, who lost their seventh straight game. They lost coach David Fizdale when he picked up his second technical foul and was ejected with 1:08 remaining. Fizdale said he didn't know why he was tossed, though referee Pat Fraher said it was for continuous complaining after he'd been warned, leading to a second tech for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Rockets led by 10 after three, but the Knicks quickly cut into it when Harden was on the bench. New York eventually took a couple of late leads - helped at one point when P.J. Tucker inexplicably refused to pick up Gordon's inbounds pass to allow a layup - but couldn't hold on, losing for the 15th time in 16 games. Harden argues a call with an official during his record-breaking display in New York City Harden had already surpassed his game average of 35.7 points by half-time against the Knicks Even before the game (pictured left), Harden was showing off his style on arrival at the stadium Harden had already surpassed his average of 35.7 points by half-time, putting back the miss of his own shot to beat the buzzer and give himself 36 points and nine rebounds. Chamberlain still has all three 30-point streaks that were longer. His record is 65 straight, and he also had streaks of 31 and 25 games. Harden was outscoring the Knicks by himself for most of the first quarter before taking his first rest late in the period with 19 points. The Knicks moved into the lead by the end of the quarter and stayed there the remainder of the half, stretching the lead to 13 before the Rockets trimmed it to 63-58 at the break. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility