James Harden scored a season-high 32 points on Wednesday, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-107 victory over the New York Knicks. The performance answered questions about whether the 37-year-old still had his scoring touch.
Harden entered the night averaging just 15.3 points through 11 games this season. He was shooting only 34.6% from the field, which would easily be the worst mark of his career. The Cavaliers were 5-6 in their first full season since acquiring him from the Clippers.
He was far more effective against New York. Harden finished 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from three-point range. His tiebreaking three with 4:21 remaining gave Cleveland the lead for good. Over the previous two games, he had totalled five baskets and six turnovers.
A Different Role
Harden, a three-time NBA scoring champion who averaged more than 30 points in each of those seasons, acknowledged that his game has changed. “It’s my 18th year, so my name is James Harden, and I used to score a lot of points. Now it’s like, all right, cool,” he said. “Still score points, but try to find out other ways to impact the game as well. And I think that’s what people probably don’t understand.”
Harden said criticism has never bothered him. He pointed out that he was once criticised for being a scorer rather than a winner. “I was averaging 36 and 35, whatever the case may be, people had something to say about that. ‘You can’t win like that.’ So then I averaged 20-something, it’s like, ‘Can’t win like that,'” he said.
He added that he is focused on his own preparation. “So I just focus on myself, things I need to do and try to get in really good shape and learn my teammates and learn how to play a different brand of basketball, because I’m not the same fast person that I was like five or six years ago.”
Finding a Balance Alongside Mitchell
Harden is still working out how to play alongside fellow star Donovan Mitchell. Coach Kenny Atkinson said the Cavaliers do not need the version of Harden who averaged 30.4, 36.1 and 34.3 points across three straight seasons with Houston. Atkinson said Harden is comfortable with that arrangement.
Atkinson had noticed glimpses of the old Harden earlier in the season. “I think guys take different amounts of time to get into rhythm sometimes, right? And I saw flashes of that with James, I think, in the previous three, four games,” Atkinson said. “I could see flashes, and he’s getting back to his level, getting back into the top form. So it’s nice to see it confirmed tonight.”
Atkinson also believes the setting helped. Harden shares the opponent scoring record at Madison Square Garden of 61 points with Kobe Bryant. Atkinson described Harden as a “global superstar” and said players of that calibre tend to enjoy playing in New York. The Cavaliers will hope Harden can sustain that form on the road as well as at home.