James Harden was philosophical about the end of his 30-point streak, saying he knew he would not get "to number one" in the NBA's all-time list.

The Houston Rockets star finished with 28 in Monday's 119-111 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, meaning his run of draining at least 30 points ended at 32 games.

It marked the second-longest streak in NBA history, but fell well short of the 65-game stretch put together by the legendary Wilt Chamberlain.

Asked if he was happy the run was over, Harden said: "Yeah, I am.

"It was cool, I knew I wasn't getting to number one, so…

"I don't care, we won. Made shots, missed shots, we won the game. We have 22 games left to catch a rhythm and find a rhythm for where we are trying to go."

Harden passed up the chance to shoot at the end of the game, opting instead to dribble out and secure the victory.

When questioned if he regretted not taking the chance, he added: "Nah. The streak was great, you know, but I was just doing it because that's what we had to do to keep our heads above water.

"Now we have a full roster back. You look at the stat line, we had multiple guys in double figures, which is great to see so. Hopefully we can keep that up and catch a rhythm."

Harden's status for the game was in doubt due to a neck injury that sidelined him for the 118-112 win over the Golden State Warriors.

"It's been a few days and so it actually felt good to go out there and just move it and run around," Harden said of his injury. 

"I haven't really done any working out or any movement. I've been in bed, really."