Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors stomped the championship dreams of James Harden and the Houston Rockets into oblivion on Monday night, and afterward Durant threw a bit of salt on Harden’s fresh wound.
After the game, speaking with ESPN Radio, Durant said, “We knew at some point they’d tire out. James dribbled so much each possession, I know at some point he’ll wear down and we were going at him on the defensive side of the ball as well,” per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
“James dribbled so much each possession…”
Whew. That’s a cold burn.
It’s not wrong, though. Without Chris Paul to balance the offense and offer a measure of control, Houston went YOLO with Harden at the helm in the second half.
The Rockets at one point missed a record 27 straight three-point attempts, Harden kept trying (unsuccessfully) to draw fouls while launching from well behind the arc and Houston ended up blowing an 11-point halftime lead, losing by nine instead.
Harden is known for, shall we say, choking under pressure? He seemed to do so once again, and Durant’s comments here highlight the fact that Golden State knew it would have a chance to come back because of that.
Though, after what happened in the second half of Game 6, perhaps everyone should have seen this coming.