We got accustomed to Houston Rockets‘ guard James Harden pouring 30-40 points a game. That wasn’t the case in the Game 2 of the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Harden scored only 12 points and had an awful shooting night with 2-18 from the field. Still, it didn’t matter, since the Rockets managed to beat the Timberwolves 102-82 and get a 2-0 lead in the series.
Despite becoming only the 16th player in the NBA history to have two or fewer makes in at least 15 attempts, James Harden isn’t too worried about his shot.
“I’m more happy than anybody right now, believe it or not, just because I’m not really worried about my shot,” – said Harden after the game. “I had those same shots in Game 1, and they went in. In Game 3, I’ll shoot those same shots.“
“But I’m fortunate to have guys like Gerald [Green] and just the entire team to have my back on both ends of the floor. I just tried to make an impact on the game in other ways, not just offensively. Happy we got the win.” – he added.
Harden’s teammates also don’t see his poor shooting night as a problem. Chris Paul, who stepped in and delivered 27 points, something like this will “probably never” happen again.
“I don’t know how many times that’s going to happen. Probably never again,” – said Paul. “For us, he’s going to keep going, he’s going to keep going. You give him 18 shots next game and see what happens.“
Surprisingly, Harden managed to make up for his poor offensive night on the defensive end. He finished the game with three steals and three blocks for the first time in his career.
“To me, it’s what he did on the defensive end that was amazing,” – commented his teammate Trevor Ariza. “He really stepped up and sat down on defense. That’s something he’s been working on all year. He’s improved unbelievably.“
