Chris Paul speaks to reporters about his extreme confidence in James Harden after the Rockets' victory in Portland. (1:03)

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Pockets of fans in the electric Moda Center crowd serenaded Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard with MVP chants during his trips to the free throw line Tuesday night.

"They're supposed to do that, right?" James Harden said after scoring 42 points in the Houston Rockets' 115-111 victory that snapped Portland's 13-game winning streak. "Who cares?"

Harden, the MVP runner-up for the second time a year ago, consistently has dismissed questions about the award this season. Frankly, as the Rockets cruise to the NBA's best record with Harden leading the league in scoring, there really shouldn't be any more questions at this point.

Except maybe, will Harden join the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history to win MVP in a unanimous vote?

"That's the best offensive player I've ever seen," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said of Harden. "They're running guys to him and he just steps a little further back and makes a 3. The way he can pass and see the floor, get layups, floaters, maybe a lob, maybe out to the corner -- he has so many weapons, and now he's shooting those step-back 3s.

"It's impossible to guard him. It's impossible."

James Harden scored a game-high 42 points as the Rockets handled Damian Lillard and the red-hot Trail Blazers. AP Photo/Steve Dykes

A couple of crunch-time possessions against the Trail Blazers illustrated D'Antoni's point. On both occasions, Harden swished step-back 3s, which he has developed into arguably the most lethal weapon in the league today.

On the first, which came with the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead with a little more than three minutes left, Harden passed up a good look after catching the pass at the 3-point line. He saw that Jusuf Nurkic was mismatched against him and was happy to invite the Blazers' big man to dance before drilling the step-back trey.

"I was just trying to wait for the defender to make his move," said Harden, who was 13-of-25 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. "Once he got to where he wanted -- or where I wanted him to be -- then I took my shot."

The second was pretty much a dagger with 1:55 left, stretching the Rockets' lead to nine, although the Blazers rallied to make it a two-point game before Houston's final possession. Lillard, whom Portland purposely kept from switching onto Harden for much of the game, was hopeless to prevent another Harden step-back 3 from falling.