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James Harden struggled for a second straight game as the Cleveland Cavaliers went down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Detroit Pistons.
The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t shake the Detroit Pistons on the road again on Thursday night, leading to the Pistons taking a 2-0 series lead.
Game 2 came down to the wire, but the Cleveland Cavaliers struggled to get superstar guard James Harden in a groove for the second straight game.
Harden was unable to get it going once again in Game 2’s loss. Through 37 minutes, the 36-year-old finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four turnovers while shooting 3-of-13 from the field and 0-of-4 from three.
He shot just two times in the second half.
The Cavaliers’ star has opened the first two games of the series with struggling performances. In Cleveland’s Game 1 loss, Harden finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 6-of-15 from the field and 1-of-7 from three. Harden struggled in turning the ball over, finishing with seven.
In the first two games of the series against the Pistons, Harden has finished both contests with more turnovers than field goals made.
“He’s James Harden; we’re not sitting here worried,” Donovan Mitchell said about his fellow superstar. “He’s going to figure this out. And we got to do a better job around him as well.”
James Harden only took 3 shots in the second half and went 3/13 from the field tonight. #Cavs Donovan Mitchell believes he’ll be fine, though.
“He’s James Harden. We’re not sitting here worried; he’s going to figure this out. And we got to do a better job around him as well.”
Although Donovan Mitchell isn’t worried about James Harden’s rough start to the series, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson had a different reaction.
“I’ll put that on me,” the coach told reporters. “The idea in the second half was to push the pace, try to place quicker, and get the ball up the court. He (James Harden) was doing a great job getting off it. But our offense is at a point now when him and Donovan (Mitchell) get off of it, it should come back to them at some point.”
Upon taking blame for the Cavaliers’ play style, Atkinson doubled down on the idea of getting James Harden involved.
“It didn’t kind of circle back to him. We can’t have our Hall of Famer taking two shots in the second half.”
“I’ll put that on me.” #Cavs Kenny Atkinson on James Harden scoring just 2 pts in the second half:
James Harden also addressed the media after Game 2, breaking down the reason behind his struggling scoring performance.
“Just missing shots,’ Harden said. “The second half, I think I took two shots, but I think the ball was moving, and we were getting better shots. Just picking and choosing my spots, figuring out what works and what doesn’t work for the betterment of the team.”
The first-year Cavaliers guard was asked about being more aggressive offensively moving forward.
“It’s a team game, so if the ball is moving to get shots, that’s for the betterment of the team,” Harden mentioned. “The best thing about it is just getting really good shots and kind of finding the combination of when to be aggressive and when to get the team shots.”
James Harden Postgame After Game 2 Loss vs Pistons:
“[0:15, Offensive Rhythm] It was good at some points of the game, some points we were a little slower in which they capitalized off of it. It’s gotta be much faster consistently—[0:27, Down 2-0] They did what they did at home.
The Cavaliers shot well enough to keep the game interesting, having a 42% field-goal percentage. However, shooting from beyond three was an issue for Cleveland, as they shot 22% on 7-of-32 attempts.
Cleveland will look for momentum at home, as the Cavaliers will host the Detroit Pistons for Games 3 and 4.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup takes place on Saturday, May 9. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.
Toran Flores is a sports reporter located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He's covered news in the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. His work has been featured on platforms like FanSided, Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Lakers All Day Everyday, and others. In his free time, Toran enjoys spending time with family and friends, staying active, and traveling. More about Toran Flores
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