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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2017/11/18/james-harden-didnt-realize-hes-leading-the-nba-in-points-and-assists/\nJames Harden didn't realize he's leading the NBA in points and assists\nSean Highkin\nJames Harden is putting up some monster numbers through the first month of the season. He’s currently leading the NBA in both scoring (31.8 points per game) and assists (10.1 per game) while shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range. But to hear Harden tell it, he isn’t thinking about his stats at all.\nFrom the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen:\n“I just want to win,” Harden said. “I didn’t even know (he leads in both.) I just want a chip. That’s it. Whatever it takes, whether it’s scoring, whether it’s passing the ball, doing whatever, I’m willing to do it. I just want to win. Stats are just stats. They’re always going to be there. I just want to win.”\nIt’s tough to believe, with the amount of information out there on social media, that Harden didn’t know what his numbers were. But the Rockets are 12-4, with the best record in the Western Conference and second-best record overall, so Harden’s goal of winning while putting up these numbers is coming to fruition, at least thus far. The Rockets look to be a serious threat in the playoffs and Harden should get serious MVP consideration if he keeps this up.\nRockets stats: James Harden, Christian Wood score 75 in overtime loss\nAll-Star guard James Harden led the way for Houston with 44 points (55% FG) and 17 assists, while new starting center Christian Wood had a remarkable debut with 31 points (64% FG) and 13 rebounds.\nYet, because of a similarly epic showing by Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, Portland survived Saturday night's thriller in overtime, 128-126 (box score). It was the first game of the 2020-21 regular season for the Rockets (0-1), while the Blazers evened their record at 1-1. McCollum scored 44 and hit a career-high nine shots from 3-point range.\nHarden hit two stepback treys in...\nJames Harden stats: Harden fills up stat sheet in 20 minutes vs. Spurs\nNick Schwartz\nWhile the Houston Rockets are reportedly opening up the search for James Harden trade partners beyond Philadelphia and Brooklyn, the former MVP is still in the Rockets' preseason lineup and is unsurprisingly putting up numbers in limited minutes.\nIn a 128-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs at the Toyota Center on Thursday night, Harden scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, with 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 turnovers in 20 minutes.\nNew Rockets big man Christian Wood led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 27 points and 10 boards. And Eric...\nJames Harden salary: See Harden's NBA earnings history, year-by-year\nJames Harden enters the 2020-21 NBA season as the most unstoppable offensive force in the game, with three consecutive scoring titles over the last three seasons, and remains a perennial NBA MVP favorite.\nFor the upcoming regular season, Harden will be the fifth-highest-paid player in the NBA with a salary of $40,824,000. Harden trails only Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and new teammate John Wall in 2020-21 earnings.\nHarden signed a $228 million contract extension in 2017 that runs through the 2022-23 NBA season. Recently, the Rockets offered Harden a new $103 million extension that would have made him a..."

ERROR: type should be string, got "https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2020/03/26/interview-ben-mclemore-explains-his-covid-19-relief-efforts/\nInterview: Ben McLemore explains his COVID-19 relief efforts\nIn a new interview, Houston Rockets guard Ben McLemore explains his determination to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts — including a plan to increase the availability of N95 respirator masks to hospitals in need.\n“I think this is the most important thing,” McLemore told RocketsWire in a podcast on Thursday. “We have these nurses and doctors helping these patients. They’re using these masks and gloves and things like that to help these patients survive and help beat the virus.”\n“When you think about it, if even just a few of them get the virus, hundreds or thousands of patients might be affected,” McLemore said. “So you want to protect the people on the front line.”\nOn Wednesday, McLemore cited a “critical shortage” of these respirator masks. From there, his foundation began partnering with manufacturer C3 International in an attempt to fill that void.\nBen McLemore working to increase respirators for COVID-19 hospitals\nThree days earlier, McLemore composed a heartfelt message on Instagram regarding the importance of social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak. “The thought that COVID can only significantly affect older people is a myth,” he wrote. “Young people are dying. Stay safe and remain vigilant so that we can get back to the lives we miss.”\nIn Thursday’s exclusive chat with RocketsWire, the seven-year NBA veteran explains why he’s aggressively using his platform on this issue.\n“We have to continue to do what’s right, and what’s important for us is to make this thing go away and limit it as much as we can, by staying in the house and keeping the social distance,” McLemore said.\nBen McLemore calls on fans to take social distancing seriously\nThe complete podcast also includes McLemore’s perspective on the night the NBA suspended its 2019-20 season; the impact of the league’s recent decision to close all team facilities; and his perspective on the Rockets (40-24) midway through his first season with the team.\nNow 27 years old, McLemore has been an on-court revelation by scoring 9.8 points in 22.8 minutes per game, including 39.5% on 3-pointers. That’s the team’s best percentage among consistent rotation players, and it makes him especially valuable to the NBA’s leader in 3-point attempts.\nIf our current reality has taught me one thing, it’s that we have taken so many simple things for granted. In a weeks time, our lifestyles have changed beyond recognition. I miss basketball. I miss my teammates. I miss the fans. But we have to take this seriously to be able to save something even greater- humanity. Let’s band together, heed the advice of medical professionals and take this social distancing seriously. The thought that Covoid can only significantly affect older people is a myth. Young people are dying. Stay safe and remain vigilant so that we can get back to the lives we miss. -B.M.\nA post shared by Ben McLemore (@b_mclemore23) on Mar 22, 2020 at 12:42pm PDT\nAfter spending his first six NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies, the former lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft appears to finally have a home and a defined role on a contender. (He’s already under contract with the Rockets for the 2020-21 season, too.)\nBut in these unprecedented times in the era of COVID-19, the role McLemore is now playing off the court is most important of all.\n'Harder than the hurricane': Rockets describe COVID-19 work\nThe Kevin McLemore foundation and I have been working to find ways to best support COVID-19 relief efforts and to direct our resources where we can make a difference. We have identified a critical shortage of N95 respirator masks. My management and I have partnered with manufacturer C3 International who has stepped up to fill the critical void of N95 respirator masks. We have initiated plans to purchase masks and donate them to hospitals in need. As we are limited to the amount of hospitals we can help, C3 International has graciously offered to provide these masks to any person or facility in need at manufacturer cost. Together, now anyone who needs N95 medical grade, FDA approved masks will have access to them. If you know of any medical facility or professional in dire need of these masks, please e-mail Angel Morales at Angel@c3mail.com. If you are still unable to purchase at cost (medical providers), please e-mail Hazem Al-Gibaly at HA@SultanGroup.tv and we will do our best to serve you as well. With Love, -Ben McLemore\nA post shared by Ben McLemore (@b_mclemore23) on Mar 24, 2020 at 3:14pm PDT"