NBA

NBA League Pass Friday night guide: Can James Harden score 50 again? Can the Pacers contain Trae Young?

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Five of the nine games on this Friday night slate are nationally televised, leaving four games of NBA action on NBA League Pass.

Take a look at one thing to watch for in each of those four contests!

All times are Eastern.

Houston Rockets at Orlando Magic – 7 p.m.

Last matchup: First meeting this season

As you've most certainly heard by now, James Harden is on a scoring tear like no other this season.

The league's leading scorer is averaging 38.7 points per game – almost a full 8.0 points ahead of the next-highest average in the NBA (Giannis Antetokounmpo, 30.9 ppg).

Harden and the Rockets last took the floor in a close win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday where the All-NBA guard went for 55 points, his fifth time scoring 50 or more this season.

Will Harden continue his ridiculous scoring pace and go for another 50-point game against the Magic tonight? 

Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 p.m.

Last matchup: Nov. 29 – Pacers 105, Hawks 104 (OT)

These two teams faced off a few weeks back and it took overtime to decide the winner.

The victory had given the Pacers their fifth-consecutive win and though they've cooled off a bit since that run, but they have still won seven of their last 10 games.

Also worth noting is that Trae Young exploded for a career-high tying 49 points shooting an efficient 57.1% from the field while knocking down eight 3-pointers.

Will Young explode again and lead the Hawks to a win or will the Pacers continue their winning ways?

Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls – 8:00 p.m.

Last matchup: Nov. 23 – Bulls 116, Hornets 115

The last meeting between these two teams did not disappoint as Zach LaVine buried a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to complete an eight-point comeback in the final 45 seconds of the game.

The 3-ball was LaVine's 13th made 3-pointer of the game as he finished with 49 points.

In the Hornets last game, point guard Devonte' Graham added another line to his strong Most Improved Player of the Year resume, going for a career-high 40 points including two dagger 3-pointers to seal the win.

This game is worth watching just to see these two trade buckets all night long.

Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz – 9:00 p.m.

Last matchup: Nov. 22 – Jazz 113, Warriors 109

The Jazz have had their struggles so far this season but they have beaten the Warriors in each of their two matchups against eachother so far.

In their last meeting, Donovan Mitchell's 30 points and Rudy Gobert's 19 rebounds and seven blocks helped Utah edge out a four-point win over Golden State.

Utah has been without their starting point guard Mike Conley Jr. for the last four games and they've gone 2-2 in those contests.

They had an embarrassing home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week but responded with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves as Mitchell's 30 points led the way yet again.

Conley is already ruled out for tonight's game, so Joe Ingles will slide into the starting lineup again. The Aussie forward has played well in his time as a starter and just had a solid game of 23 points, five assists and five rebounds to help beat Minnesota.

Can the Jazz pick up another win to try and build a streak to get their season trending in the direction it was expected to go in?

Author(s)
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Kyle Irving is an NBA content producer for The Sporting News.