Kia Most Valuable Player candidate James Harden will sit out tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

With the Houston Rockets facing back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow against the struggling San Antonio Spurs, Houston wanted to get Harden, who is leading the NBA in scoring with 31.1 points per game and ranks third in assists (8.8 per game) a rest before returning to the lineup on Monday night.

James Harden out. Will play vs. Spurs.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 11, 2018

Per MDA, James Harden (sore knee) will not play tonight in Dallas but will be available tomorrow night against San Antonio.

— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) March 11, 2018

The Rockets went 4-3 when Harden was out with a strained hamstring in January.