Despite late gaffe in Game 2, James Harden has been magnificent
The Houston Rockets find themselves in a hole after losing the first two games of the Western Conference Finals on the road to the mighty Golden State Warriors. Part of the reason why the Rockets are down is because James Harden failed on the last possession of a wild Game 2, failing to get a shot off in the final seconds of a 99-98 loss.
But make no mistake, James Harden has been absolutely magnificent in the first two games of this series, and throughout the playoffs in general.
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Prior to that late gaffe, Harden did all he could to help the Rockets pull off the upset. He had scored or assisted on Houston’s previous 12 points, with 10 of those points being his own. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 38 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Many people will focus on what happened at the end, and I get it, because the play decided the game. But anybody that labels Harden a “choke artist” or anything like that is just dumb. Without Harden doing all he did throughout the rest of the game, the Rockets aren’t even close in this one.
This dynamite performance came after Harden put up 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the Game 1 loss. Two games, two near triple-doubles, but two losses. A tough break for Harden and the Rockets to say the least.
Harden has been superb throughout this postseason, save for a few duds. He’s averaging 27.6 points, 8.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 45.3 percent overall and 37.5 percent from three. He’s knocking down 92.9 percent of his free throw attempts. His defense hasn’t always been there, but on the whole, he has been marvelous.
The Rockets are no strangers to series deficits after what happened in the second round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, the Warriors aren’t the Clippers, so coming back from this hole will be even more difficult. But with Harden playing exceptionally well and Dwight Howard bouncing back with a strong performance in Game 2 despite a knee injury, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. Houston just needs some better performances from its supporting cast.
Heading to Houston for Game 3, the Rockets are a slim underdog. Houston opened as a 1½-point dog, but that number has shrunk to a point at some sportsbooks. Considering how these first two games have played out, expect another big Harden performance and another close game.
