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Another week of NBA basketball is in the books and it was filled with some exciting action. Some of the highlights of the week include James Harden's 58-point performance, Phoenix Suns' shocking win over the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls' 4 OT win against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Golden State Warriors continue to dominate the league as they sit firmly atop the table in the West while the Milwaukee Bucks lead the East. In this article, we take a look at the five best players from Week 20.
#5 James Harden - Houston Rockets
This week saw James Harden's 30-point streak come to an end at 32 games. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him and his greatness. Harden, who is arguably the toughest one-on-one player to guard in the league today, led the Rockets to three-straight wins this week and helped them improve their record to 37-25, 5th in West.
Harden started the week scoring 28 points in the win against the Atlanta Hawks at home. Even though he had a terrible night from the three-point line and went 0-for-10, he found other ways to score and help the team to victory.
Two nights after the win at home, the Rockets were on the road to take on the Charlotte Hornets. It was the Harden show once again as 'The Beard' scored 30 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the Rockets past the Hornets.
The Rockets traveled back home immediately after the win and hosted the Miami Heat for their second game in as many nights. Harden did not show any signs of fatigue as he ended up scoring 58 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 10 assists, on an impressive 16-for-32 shooting. He knocked down 8 three-pointers in the contest.
#4 Tobias Harris - Philadelphia 76ers
Need a bucket-getting wing player? Call Tobias Harris maybe. The 27-year-old is one of the best wing players in the league and has settled into the Sixers' offense nicely even though he only got traded to the team recently.
Harris, who is having an All-Star caliber season, played a huge part in the two wins the Sixers registered this week. In their first game of the week, the Philadelphia 76ers were on the road to take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Harris registered a double-double scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to help the Sixers to victory.
After a good three-day rest, the Sixers were in Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in an intense matchup. Even though the Sixers went into this game without their All-Star, Joel Embiid, they still got the win, on the back of Tobias Harris' 32-point red-hot night.
Finally, he capped off the week by posting 20 points and 9 rebounds in the three-point close-loss against the defending champs, Golden State Warriors.
#3 LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers had a rough week and it is really uncertain at this stage whether they would reach the playoffs or not. However, LeBron James did not disappoint and continued to be himself on the court.
James started the week with a triple-double against Memphis Grizzlies in a loss, with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. The Lakers then returned home for a two-game homestand starting with a showdown against the Davis-less New Orleans Pelicans.
LeBron James once again went off, scoring 33 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 10 assists to drag the Lakers to victory. He also hit a dagger three-pointer to seal the deal in clutch time.
Two nights later, in one of the highly anticipated matchups, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. LeBron James once again showed up with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists but Eric Bledsoe's strong outing handed the Lakers a defeat.
The Lakers, looking to end the week with a win, entered the Talking Stick Resort Arena for a match against the Phoenix Suns. LeBron James had a monster game with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 16 assists, falling one rebound shy of a triple-double. However, the Lakers lost their second-straight game, thanks to DeAndre Ayton and Devin Booker combining for 51 points.
#2 Karl-Anthony Towns - Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns did not have a great start to the season but has been phenomenal in the last two months.
Towns started the week hot by scoring 34 points and snagging 21 rebounds in the win against the Sacramento Kings. He was very efficient from the field and went 13-for-18 for a field-goal percentage of 72.2.
As a part of their three-game road trip, Timberwolves were in Atlanta to take on the Hawks and Towns put together his second straight double-double with 37 points and 18 rebounds. However, Trae Young's strong night meant the T-Wolves had to take the loss.
To end the week, the Timberwolves were in Indiana and squared off against the Pacers. Towns once again exploded for a double-double (third-straight) with 42 points and 17 rebounds. The Timberwolves lost once again, their second in three games, thanks to Bojan Bogdanovic's 37 points.
#1 Trae Young - Atlanta Hawks
This is not even up for debate. Trae Young had the best week across both the conferences and went on an absolute tear. Even though the Hawks only won 1 out of the 3 games they played, the rookie has started living up to the pre-season hype.
Young scored 36 points against the Houston Rockets on a red-hot 8-for-12 three-point shooting night to start the week but James Harden answered back with 28 of his own and led the Rockets to victory.
Two nights later, they were back at the State Farm Arena to host the Minnesota Timberwolves. Young picked up where he had left off and scored 36 points, helping the Hawks get the win.
However, the 20-year-old's form did not end there as he finished the week dropping 49 points along with 16 assists, against the Chicago Bulls in a highly entertaining 4 OT thriller that unfortunately ended in a loss for the Hawks.
