After officially landing the fifth seed in a major win against the Golden State Warriors, James Harden's playoff streak of 16 consecutive seasons stands strong. This massive stature is overlooked by his previous feats, such as almost beating the prime-time Golden State Warriors as the first option in the Western Conference Finals, who had four All-Stars in 2017-18.
On the flip side, this series, in particular, has been one of many that fed into the criticism of his ability to perform in the postseason. Sure, Harden was Houston's offensive architect, but he averaged 4.9 turnovers over seven games against Golden State, including six in game five and nine in game six.
In a close-out game seven with everything on the line, Harden shot 12-29 from the floor and 2-13 from beyond the arc.
Harden has done great things in the postseason, but more importantly, he has had poor shooting and high turnover outcomes when the stage is bright. This consistent theme, since he was first regarded as a superstar, has invited plenty of questions on how the next few weeks will unravel.
However, before the playoffs had even begun, the three-time scoring champion had sent a notice to the world about how eager he was to eliminate the false narratives.
James Harden crushing the Warriors with high stakes says everything fans need to know
In the days before the last game of the season against the Golden State Warriors, fans of the LA Clippers and the NBA in general knew how much of a classic it would be to witness James Harden battle Stephen Curry in a high-pressure showdown. These two have grown in the league together, especially after being drafted four picks apart in 2009.
Furthermore, Curry has won in previous battles, but it is safe to say Harden took this one to heart and walked home victorious, leaving the play-in tournament for the Warriors to fight through.
Nonetheless, Harden scored 39 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds while playing 48 minutes of overtime basketball. He also had two steals and two blocks and shot 56.5% from the field.
Specifically, in overtime, Harden was the only player to make a field goal and recorded 12 of the 13 teams' total points by himself. Kawhi Leonard was the other scorer, but he split a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining.
That said, Harden has already silenced the doubt in a game with playoff-like circumstances and appears happy to do it again.