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Cavs guard James Harden had a terrible Eastern Conference Finals.
In game 1 of the series, the Knicks deliberately attacked Harden in the fourth quarter, which led to an epic Cavs collapse.
“Sometimes, you got to do what the game dictates. They were trying to do the same thing with Jalen. We said, ‘okay, we feel like we can play that game.’ We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that game with in Jalen… It is no secret that we were attacking Harden,” Coach Brown said.
“It’s no secret, we totally targeted James Harden”
– Mike Brown 💀 pic.twitter.com/PeBtvGi20I
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 20, 2026
On Monday, Harden scored 12 points with 5 turnovers on 2/8 shooting in an elimination game.
After the game, Harden told the media that he still believed the Cavs were better than the Knicks despite the Knicks being swept.
“It was 4-0, but I don’t think we had a chance as far as our best shot … Genuinely, I do feel like we are the better team. Series-wise, we didn’t show it.”
James Harden on if the Knicks are better than the Cavs:
“It was 4-0, but I don’t think we had a chance as far as our best shot … Genuinely, I do feel like we are the better team. Series-wise, we didn’t show it.”pic.twitter.com/qSam72NMqh
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 26, 2026
Harden defended his play from critics.
“I think I did pretty good … defensively, been extremely solid, and offensively, getting guys shots and fitting into a system that was already in place.”
James Harden was asked to self-assess his playoff run:
“I think I did pretty good … defensively, been extremely solid, and offensively, getting guys shots and fitting into a system that was already in place.”pic.twitter.com/HdgoO1GzLv
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 26, 2026