Harden starts 0-on-15, carries the Rockets to the clutch

Harden's 15 failed attempts to start the game have been most numerous in the playoffs over the past 20 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information's research. His first bucket did not arrive until 7:34 am in the fourth quarter, then Harden launched a dissenting dunk.

In the following possession, Harden was 3 points behind the "U" of the half-court logo. His courage certainly did not falter after he had made his first nine attempts at three points.

With a lead of the Rockets to one, Harden has made a further decline of 3 with a remaining time of 1:11, offering a critical counter-shot during the attempt of the Jazz Rally. Harden, who has 10 assists, scored 4: 4 in the final two minutes to help Houston resist Utah.

"No matter how you play during a game, you know that at the end of the match, it's James Harden," said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. "He's also good at the end, you give yourself a very small margin, but I thought we were going to do it, I'm proud of the way we played and played, we did not win this evening to reflect that. "

Harden, who won his second consecutive title scoring an average of 36.1 points per game in the regular season, averaged 30.5 points in the Rockets defeats in the first two games of the series.

The Jazz, second defenseman of the regular season, was humiliated by the way Harden chose him apart in Houston and has been dedicated to being more aggressive and competitive when the series was transferred to the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.

"The way we started the game was difficult," said Rudy Gobert of the jazz center. "I do not think they felt us in the first two games, we should play that way every night, I think that's what we are, and we have to play the same way." nightly."

Harden, however, refused to credit Utah's defense for his shooting night. This is roughly the policy of Harden, who prides himself on being a historically elite offensive force and consistently strikes hard shots.

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James Harden "did not know", he had shot 0-on-15 on the ground until his interview with Cassidy Hubbarth in the post-game.

When asked if he had noticed a higher level of intensity in the Jazz defense, Harden smiled and replied, "No, I just missed a few shots. three, I think. "

His team-mate Chris Paul, sitting next to Harden on the podium, cracked: "Gobert has also launched two."

Indeed, two of Gobert's seven blocks were spent at the expense of Harden, and the presence of the defensive player of the year was felt by some of Harden's other defeats. The Jazz Guards, mainly Ricky Rubio and Royce O 'Neale, have also managed to better challenge Harden's shots over the previous two games.

"They played it hard, that is no question," said Rockets coach Mike D & # 39; Antoni. "They had it, and they did what they were supposed to do, but James normally understands this stuff anyway, so he just did not have a good night." – and it happens. "

Fortunately for the Rockets, jazz star Donovan Mitchell also had a long drought, despite a spectacular debut, which allowed Houston to stay in the area, even without Harden.

Mitchell made five of his first six shots from the ground, including a spectacular one-lane and one-point lead in the Jazz 8-0 run to open the game. But Mitchell, the only Utah player able to create his own shot consistently, missed 11 shots in a row and finished with 34 out of 9 shots out of 27.

"It's only my role and I can not miss so many shots," said Mitchell, who shot 32.8 percent of the area of ​​the series. "I have to be able to hit those, and we have to capitalize."

Mitchell's last attempt was a 3-pointer open behind a Gobert screen on the right wing, which could have matched the match with 8.7 seconds to go. The Jazz are 27-on-106 from 3 points in the series.