From 3 for 13 to clutch closer: James Harden’s late takeover in Cavaliers’ Game 3 win

CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden endured plenty of criticism after the first two games of Cleveland’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Detroit.

With the Cavaliers in danger of falling into a 3-0 hole that no NBA team has ever overcome, the 17-year veteran showed he can still come up big in the clutch.

Advertisement

Harden hit three shots in the final two minutes Saturday to lift the Cavaliers to a 116-109 victory over the Pistons in Game 3.

“I love it. When my number’s called, just getting to my spots,” said Harden, who finished with 19 points and seven assists in 40 minutes. “Don(ovan) Mitchell 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. And for me, just going out there and taking my shots.”

Harden was 8 of 14 from the field after going 3 of 13 in Thursday’s 107-97 loss at Detroit. His long-distance shooting also picked up as he went 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. He was 3 of 20 from beyond the arc in his last four games before Saturday.

“It’s the James Harden I’ve seen for how many years he’s been in the NBA. That’s the James we needed tonight,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We were searching and we got some good screenings into the matchups we wanted and he went to work.”

Advertisement

Harden was scoreless in the fourth quarter and took only two shots during the second half on Thursday, along with a critical turnover in the final minute that ended any hopes of a Cleveland comeback.

The 2018 NBA MVP had nine points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, with seven coming in the final 89 seconds.

With the shot clock running down, Harden drove the lane and hit a 16-foot step-back jumper with 1:29 remaining to push Cleveland’s lead to 108-104.

After a driving dunk by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Harden came up big again. He drove past Duncan Robinson and made a floating 7-footer in the paint to put the lead back up to four.

Advertisement

Cunningham responded with a 3-pointer before Harden provided the decisive blow with 25 seconds…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/3-13-clutch-closer-james-004515591.html

Author : JOE REEDY

Publish date : 2026-05-10 00:45:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.