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James Harden’s Choke Ends Rockets’ Season

By Mark Vandeusen

May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) loses the ball as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) loses the ball as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Houston Rockets 104-90 to advance to their first NBA Finals in 40 years.  While most of the Game 5 storylines will be about the Warriors and league MVP Stephen Curry, it’s worth noting the role James Harden played in his team’s demise.

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After Houston pulled out an impressive victory in Game 4, the Rockets were 4-0 in the 2015 playoffs when facing elimination.  Unfortunately, a terrible showing from Harden cost them a chance to extend that record to 5-0 and keep their season alive.

Harden’s 14 points in Game 5 were his fewest this postseason and his lowest total since Feb. 11.  He scored 10 of his 14 points at the free-throw line and did not make a three-pointer, going 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.  It was the first time this postseason that he failed to hit a three, ending a streak that dated back to March 12.

Harden shot 2-for-11 from the floor, good for just 18 percent.  It marked his worst single-game shooting percentage since Nov. 17, when he went 1-for-8 against the Memphis Grizzlies.  That contest was also the last time Harden made two or fewer field goals in a game.

The NBA’s second-leading scorer this year was also surprisingly passive in Game 5.  For the season, Harden averaged 18.1 field goal attempts per game.  Wednesday was just the sixth occasion in 2014-15 that he shot the ball less than 12 times.

All of these unusually low stats pale in comparison to Harden’s absurd number of turnovers in the series finale–13.  To no surprise it was his career high, easily eclipsing his old mark of 10.  Not only that, but Harden also set a new league record for turnovers in a playoff game, surpassing the previous mark by two.

On a night that Houston needed him to be at his best, Harden put up his worst stats of the year.

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