Sports

James Harden’s Terrible Defense ‘Targeted’ By Knicks, Leads To Cavs’ Epic Choke Job In 4th Quarter

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© Brad Penner-Imagn Images


The Cleveland Cavaliers choked away a 22-point 4th quarter lead against the NY Knicks in game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, and James Harden’s defense is to blame.

Throughout the 4th quarter, Harden was targeted by Jalen Brunson, and the Knicks’ offense and the veteran Cavs guard struggled to keep up.

Unfortunately for Harden, the Cavs ended up losing the game in overtime, and Knicks head coach Mike Brown specifically targeted Harden in the 4th quarter

“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.

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson did not lay the blame on Harden, and instead credited Brunson for taking over the game.

“We got a little bit unlucky…. Brunson took over the 4th quarter we tried doubling him… listen I’m super proud of how our group played tonight we play great basketball for 3 quarters… unfortunately they dominated the 4th quarter”

Harden and his terrible defense became a meme on social media after the Cavs’ loss.

Jorge Alonso BroBible avatar
Jorge Alonso is a BroBible Sports Editor who has been covering the NBA, NFL, and MLB professionally for over 10 years, specializing in digital media. He isa Miami native and lifelong Heat fan.
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