James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a mission to steal a win in Game 5 of their series on the road against the Detroit Pistons. As one of the key Cavs players, much is expected from Harden, who joined an extremely exclusive NBA Playoffs club amid Wednesday night's contest at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The former NBA Most Valuable Player became just the fourth player in the history of the Association to score at least 4,000 points, collect 1,000 rebounds and dish out 1,000 dimes in the playoffs. Two of the players to have done it are in the Basketball Hall of Fame, while the other is a lock to be inducted into Springfield.
Only Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the others to have achieved that feat.
Harden faced criticism early in the series for his subpar play, which helped the Pistons take a 2-0 lead.
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But the 11-time NBA All-Star has since stepped up and flashed some of the form that made him one of his generation's best players. He had 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting in the Cavs' win in Game 3 before putting up 24 points and recording 11 assists in Cleveland's Game 4 victory.
The three-time NBA scoring champion appears to have answered the call, and he'll have to sustain that form, as Cleveland looks to take down Detroit Wednesday for a potential to close out the series at home in Game 6.
The Cavs acquired Harden via a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland and picks before last February's deadline.
James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers are on a mission to steal a win in Game 5 of their series on the road against the Detroit Pistons. As one of the key Cavs players, much is expected from Harden, who joined an extremely exclusive NBA Playoffs club amid Wednesday night's contest at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.