Just when it looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers may suffer a devastating Game 3 loss on their home court to the Detroit Pistons, James Harden saved the day. Harden, who had been much-maligned for his play in the first two games of the series in Detroit, made three straight shots in the final 1:29 to help clinch a 116-109 victory and avoid a 3-0 series hole.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke after the game about Hardenās heroics: āItās the James Harden Iāve seen for how many years heās been in the NBA.ā
Harden finished the game with 19 points and seven assists in 40 minutes, so it had been another relatively quiet performance before his clutch-time wizardry helped Cleveland avoid what would have been a devastating loss. The Cavs led by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter before the Pistons stormed back to take the lead. Cleveland steadied the ship to build back a nine-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter, but Detroit made one last surge.
Then with the Cavs nursing a three-point lead in the final minutes, Harden took over. He made it a five-point game with 1:29 to play with a mid-range jumper. The Beard then answered a Cade Cunningham bucket with another basket of his own with just under a minute to play. A Cunningham triple cut the margin to two, but Hardenās dagger trey with 25.9 seconds left sealed the deal.
It was sweet redemption for Harden, who scored just 10 points in an ugly Game 2 performance. Turnovers have also been a major problem throughout these playoffs for Harden, but he only coughed it up three times in Game 3. It was the first game in the series in which the future Hall of Famer had more made field goals than turnovers. He shot 8-of-14 from the field in Game 3.
Harden was defiant in the face of his critics afterward, and now heāll try to help the Cavs tie up the series at 2-2 in Game 4 on Monday.