To say the least, it has been a tough week for James Harden. First, he had to deal with Matt Barnes disrespecting his mother and then in the following game against the Clippers, he was dealt the responsibility of containing Austin Rivers. Click more to check out the video!
Austin Rivers, who is having a break out career in the playoffs, keeps getting better as his team gets deeper into the Western Conference playoffs. In the series against the Spurs, Austin boosted the Clippers in the second and fourth quarters of game 4 and ultimately helped them avoid an elimination game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Austin Rivers just needed some time to prove that he wasn’t just having a good game against the Spurs and he got that in game 3 against the Houston Rockets. From the beginning of this series, Austin Rivers has been playing extremely hard. In many instances, when Chris Paul is not on the floor, the Rockets will have James Harden guard Austin. Now, in recent years, James Harden has not been known for his defensive talent, but in the 2014-15 season he has stepped it up. To no avail against Austin Rivers though, as he has been breezing by Harden and getting to the rack at will.
In game 3, Rivers dropped 25 points on James Harden and the Rockets. Clearly feeling himself, it seems that Rivers may have even been taunting Harden. Harden is known for making a clutch shot and then hitting his signature, “cooking up in the air with his hands. In a step back three over Jason Terry, Rivers mocks Harden and his celebration. Is he taking a shot at the MVP runner up?
The Celebration…
James Harden assured us that his squad would be locked in after their game 2 win and Matt Barnes’ comments toward his mother but they were blown out by 25 points. Now that they have lost and he he may have been taunted by Rivers, how will Harden and the Rockets bounce back?
Source: NBA.com
