James Harden Rumors

Luka Doncic missed his first free throw and stepped away from the line and smiled while composing himself before making the second -- notching the third game of at least 60 points in his career and the highest-scoring game by an opponent in Miami, eclipsing James Harden's 58 on Feb. 28, 2019. When the final buzzer sounded, Doncic was mobbed by his teammates, who circled him to celebrate his fourth game with 40-plus points in the past eight games. "I mean, that's what it's all about," Doncic said of his team's reaction. "You see everybody celebrating on the bench ... it shows that we care a lot about each other. And that's what great teams do. Just makes my heart happy seeing them celebrate my 60-point game."

ESPN

Keerthika Uthayakumar: Luka Doncic is averaging 39.4 points on the 2nd night of a back-to-back this season, on pace to be 4th-most in NBA history. Wilt - 50.1 points in 1961-62 Wilt - 41.7 points in 1962-63 James Harden - 40.9 points in 2018-19 Luka Doncic - 39.4 points this season

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Drew: Jarrett Allen will miss his seventh-straight game tonight for the Cavaliers. Jaylon Tyson and Tyrese Procter are also out for Cleveland, who’s gone 11-4 with James Harden in the lineup.

bsky.app

Nick DePaula: Adidas teases a potential future Jalen Williams signature shoe — with advice from James Harden: “I treat every one like it’s my first.”

Twitter

Harden was traded to Cleveland. Zubac was traded to Indiana. Two key starters. How did you feel about those trades? Brook Lopez: It was tough, obviously, because they brought so much to the team and so much of our success hinged on them. That being said, I don’t think internally we see our expectations as that different. We’re very confident. We definitely, a while ago, turned a corner and we know we can play with anyone.

Andscape

In an appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game show on YouTube, Brooks let it be known that he can guard Cleveland Cavaliers star James Harden all day everyday and twice on Sundays. “I can guard James. That’s life. No, he doesn’t want no physicality. All he wants to do is go left. Like he’s like a 90 percent better basketball player going left than right. I know the step back’s coming, I know the foul bait f**king throwing his arms into you is coming. And when he gets to his right hand, he wants to just pass the ball,” Brooks said.

Clutch Points

Steve Kerr: "If you put your arm in, everybody around the league will do what Shai does, what James Harden does. Like, they'll hook your arm, and they'll [flail their arms], and it's all part of the rules. So, more power to all the individual players. But as a league, we need to adapt and adjust. The players are just, year after year, they just take advantage of the rules. They're smart, and they know what they're doing."

NBC Bay Area

Danny Cunningham: #Cavs beat the Pistons 113-109 without Donovan Mitchell. Jaylon Tyson had 22 points, Evan Mobley and James Harden both had 18 and Dennis Schroder had 15 points off the bench. Tyson did an excellent job defensively on Cade Cunningham, too.

x.com

Atkinson said Harden's addition has unburdened Mitchell, who was carrying the weight of the team's injury and inconsistency issues earlier this season. Mitchell's 32.8 usage rate this season is his highest since 2019-20, his final season with the Utah Jazz, and ranks fifth in the NBA. During his postgame interview session after beating the Knicks, Mitchell pointed to Cleveland's previous game against New York, on Christmas Day, as a measurement for how far the team had grown.

TSN

Upon hearing the news, Harden had just one thought: Do whatever it takes to get back on the court as quickly as possible. He never considered surgery. “That’s too much time out,” Harden explained Sunday afternoon, following his first game in nearly a week. “Thought about playing last game. Thought about playing in Milwaukee. There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through. “Got no other choice.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Just love to play basketball — even without the money,” Harden said. “Basketball is something that we do and it’s a safe place. As you get better and start studying the game and learning more and get comfortable and then you keep getting better and better at it, it’s the same with anything, you just get addicted to it. “I’m blessed to be able to play in this league for as long as I have and I’m still doing it at a high level. Even now, as I’ve gotten older ... I always felt like that when I was younger, but even now I do realize I have a few more years left to play basketball, so want to definitely cherish them and not have any regrets playing.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Michael Scotto: James Harden on how much longer he wants to play: “I know it’s coming soon. Hopefully, later than soon, but it’s a reality. Everybody has to go through this at some point. Just trying to continue to keep my body in shape and play well. We’ll see what happens in the next few years. Take one game at a time and cherish the moments.”

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Ethan Sands: #Cavs James Harden and Keon Ellis are AVAILABLE against the Nets.

bsky.app

Omari Sankofa: James Harden is officially out tonight.

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