All articles tagged with #harden
James Harden will decline his $42.3M player option for next season and is negotiating a multiyear contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, with both sides seeking salary longevity to stay under the second luxury-tax apron. The move follows Harden’s productive late-season stint after being acquired, which helped Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference finals and signals a push to keep the core intact for another title run.
Cleveland lost 107-97 to Detroit in Detroit, dropping to 0-2 in the series as a late-game drought exposed not just James Harden’s inefficient night and defensive issues, but broader crunch-time problems for the Cavs. Mitchell and Mobley struggled in the fourth quarter, the supporting cast shot poorly from three, and Cleveland’s road playoff struggles (4-13 in the Mitchell era) persist. The loss isn’t solely on Harden; the team as a whole must elevate late-game offense and tighten defense to salvage the series, which remains winnable if the All-NBA stars step up.
The Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit and tied the game in the fourth, but Detroit pulled away to win 111-101 in Game 1. James Harden (22 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds) had seven turnovers that hampered the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell struggled to impose himself with 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting, and Evan Mobley (14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) couldn’t anchor the paint as Detroit won the rebounding battle. Max Strus added 19 points to fuel the comeback, but Cleveland got little else from the bench, and foul trouble limited Jarrett Allen. Cleveland will need cleaner ballhandling and better interior defense to even the series.
Game 7 in Cleveland pits the Cavaliers’ stars James Harden and Donovan Mitchell against the Raptors, who forced a deciding matchup with RJ Barrett’s OT winner. The series has been razor-thin, with Toronto’s aggressive defense fueling its transition game and keeping Harden and Mitchell unsettled. Cleveland hopes to close it on home soil after a tightly contested series, while Toronto tries to buck a historical trend (0-10 in playoff games in Cleveland) with big performances from Barrett and Scottie Barnes and sustained hustle.