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CLEVELAND — Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman and coach Kenny Atkinson should give Game 3 James Harden the Han Solo treatment by freezing him in carbonite.
Harden isn’t too old to deliver in the clutch after all, as evidenced by his heroics in the Cavs’ 116-109 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday, May 9, at Rocket Arena.
If only the Cavs could preserve the Game 3 version of Harden with “Star Wars” technology, they would stand a much better chance of meeting the NBA Finals-or-bust expectations heaped upon them.
The Game 3 iteration of Harden is what the Cavs envisioned in February when they traded Darius Garland for Harden, an 11-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, albeit one 10 years older than fellow point guard Garland.
The Harden the Cavs got in Game 3 is what they need to overcome a 2-1 deficit in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Pistons. Game 4 is set for 8 p.m. Monday, May 11, in Cleveland. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time for Harden to thaw by then.
Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 3 instant reactions
The 36-year-old Harden inspired this brilliant theme along with the Guardians, who hosted “Star Wars” night on May 9 next to the site of Game 3. With a bag of ice fastened to Harden’s left shooting hand during a postgame news conference, he played coy when asked about dealing with an injury.
“Dealing with what?” Harden said.
The ice, sir. We can all see it. The ice is on your hand.
“I’m just a little older, so I’ve got to make sure I can stay younger,” Harden said.
Voila!
Game 3 Harden is the perfect age. He certainly appeared to be sprier than when he fumbled the ball in Game 2 and had it stolen by Pistons small forward Ausar Thompson with 33.3 seconds left, sealing Detroit’s victory.
After the Pistons rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit in Game 3, regained the lead in the third quarter and seized it for the final time with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter, Harden shut the door during the first game of the series held in Cleveland.
Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 3 stats, highlights and analysis
Small forward Max Strus’ fast-break layup off his steal of an inbounds pass by point guard Cade Cunningham gave the Cavs a 106-104 edge with 2:28 left.
Then Harden provided three daggers.
“It's the James Harden I've seen for how many years he's been in the NBA,” Atkinson said, losing track of Harden’s 17 NBA seasons because there are so many of them to count. “That's the James we know. We needed it.”
Three successful foul shots down the stretch by guard Donovan Mitchell accounted for the rest of Cleveland’s scoring.
Mitchell finished with a game-high 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the field (2-of-8 on 3s), 10 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes. Harden had 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor (3-of-7 on 3s), seven assists, two rebounds and a steal in 40 minutes. Both players committed just three turnovers — a significant improvement as the Cavs won the turnover battle 16-15. They each scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
Harden went 4-of-5 shooting from the field (1-of-1 from beyond the 3-point arc) in the final quarter.
“I love it,” Harden said. “When my number’s called, [I'm focused on] just getting to my spots, and it's something that I work on literally every day. So, it's basically repetition, and it's the confidence to go out there and just do it. Don had been working so extremely hard throughout the course of the game. Just trying to find opportunities to help him. So that last minute and a half, two minutes, however long it was, it presented itself.”
Despite Harden’s struggles in Detroit (he had 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field in Game 2 and 22 points but also seven turnovers in Game 1), Atkinson, Mitchell and Co. trust him. The truth is they really have no other choice. The Cavs signed up for the Harden experience — good, bad or ugly. Game 3 Harden was good.
Mitchell said he didn’t have a problem deferring to Harden in crunch time because “it’s James Harden.” Mitchell added, “He works really hard at his game, and his resume speaks for itself.”
But for the last several years, Harden has failed to come through in high-stakes playoff moments. Critics of the Cavs' trade for Harden point to those shortcomings, even though Garland’s persistent injury history played a huge role in the decision to execute the deal.
“Chatter is going to be chatter regardless,” Harden said. “I mean, whether you do something good, whether you do something bad, for me, still, you give me opportunities in this fourth quarter, and I take advantage of them.”
Harden has talked the talk since he arrived in Cleveland. Game 3 Harden walked the walk, too.
“He’s an all-timer,” said Cunningham, who led the Pistons with a triple-double (27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists). “Isolation scorer — it’s what he’s comfortable doing. I thought we’ve done a good job on him, but, obviously, guys get in a rhythm. … He did a great job finishing the game.”
The Cavs need to protect Game 3 Harden at all costs and discover a way to reactivate him.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: James Harden delivers in clutch to lift Cavs to Game 3 win vs Pistons
Continue reading...
Harden isn’t too old to deliver in the clutch after all, as evidenced by his heroics in the Cavs’ 116-109 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday, May 9, at Rocket Arena.
If only the Cavs could preserve the Game 3 version of Harden with “Star Wars” technology, they would stand a much better chance of meeting the NBA Finals-or-bust expectations heaped upon them.
The Game 3 iteration of Harden is what the Cavs envisioned in February when they traded Darius Garland for Harden, an 11-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer, albeit one 10 years older than fellow point guard Garland.
The Harden the Cavs got in Game 3 is what they need to overcome a 2-1 deficit in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Pistons. Game 4 is set for 8 p.m. Monday, May 11, in Cleveland. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time for Harden to thaw by then.
Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 3 instant reactions
The 36-year-old Harden inspired this brilliant theme along with the Guardians, who hosted “Star Wars” night on May 9 next to the site of Game 3. With a bag of ice fastened to Harden’s left shooting hand during a postgame news conference, he played coy when asked about dealing with an injury.
“Dealing with what?” Harden said.
The ice, sir. We can all see it. The ice is on your hand.
“I’m just a little older, so I’ve got to make sure I can stay younger,” Harden said.
Voila!
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Game 3 Harden is the perfect age. He certainly appeared to be sprier than when he fumbled the ball in Game 2 and had it stolen by Pistons small forward Ausar Thompson with 33.3 seconds left, sealing Detroit’s victory.
After the Pistons rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit in Game 3, regained the lead in the third quarter and seized it for the final time with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter, Harden shut the door during the first game of the series held in Cleveland.
Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 3 stats, highlights and analysis
Small forward Max Strus’ fast-break layup off his steal of an inbounds pass by point guard Cade Cunningham gave the Cavs a 106-104 edge with 2:28 left.
Then Harden provided three daggers.
- With 1:29 left, he drained a 16-foot step-back jump shot over Pistons forward Tobias Harris for a 108-104 lead
- With 59 seconds left, he made a floater over Pistons center Jalen Duren for a 110-106 lead
- With 25.9 seconds left, he made an isolation 3-pointer over Harris for a 113-109 lead
“It's the James Harden I've seen for how many years he's been in the NBA,” Atkinson said, losing track of Harden’s 17 NBA seasons because there are so many of them to count. “That's the James we know. We needed it.”
You must be registered for see images
Three successful foul shots down the stretch by guard Donovan Mitchell accounted for the rest of Cleveland’s scoring.
Mitchell finished with a game-high 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the field (2-of-8 on 3s), 10 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes. Harden had 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor (3-of-7 on 3s), seven assists, two rebounds and a steal in 40 minutes. Both players committed just three turnovers — a significant improvement as the Cavs won the turnover battle 16-15. They each scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
Harden went 4-of-5 shooting from the field (1-of-1 from beyond the 3-point arc) in the final quarter.
“I love it,” Harden said. “When my number’s called, [I'm focused on] just getting to my spots, and it's something that I work on literally every day. So, it's basically repetition, and it's the confidence to go out there and just do it. Don had been working so extremely hard throughout the course of the game. Just trying to find opportunities to help him. So that last minute and a half, two minutes, however long it was, it presented itself.”
Despite Harden’s struggles in Detroit (he had 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field in Game 2 and 22 points but also seven turnovers in Game 1), Atkinson, Mitchell and Co. trust him. The truth is they really have no other choice. The Cavs signed up for the Harden experience — good, bad or ugly. Game 3 Harden was good.
Mitchell said he didn’t have a problem deferring to Harden in crunch time because “it’s James Harden.” Mitchell added, “He works really hard at his game, and his resume speaks for itself.”
But for the last several years, Harden has failed to come through in high-stakes playoff moments. Critics of the Cavs' trade for Harden point to those shortcomings, even though Garland’s persistent injury history played a huge role in the decision to execute the deal.
“Chatter is going to be chatter regardless,” Harden said. “I mean, whether you do something good, whether you do something bad, for me, still, you give me opportunities in this fourth quarter, and I take advantage of them.”
Harden has talked the talk since he arrived in Cleveland. Game 3 Harden walked the walk, too.
“He’s an all-timer,” said Cunningham, who led the Pistons with a triple-double (27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists). “Isolation scorer — it’s what he’s comfortable doing. I thought we’ve done a good job on him, but, obviously, guys get in a rhythm. … He did a great job finishing the game.”
The Cavs need to protect Game 3 Harden at all costs and discover a way to reactivate him.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: James Harden delivers in clutch to lift Cavs to Game 3 win vs Pistons
Continue reading...
