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. 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. ” 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.