James Harden struggled again on Thursday, finishing with 10 points as the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-97 in Game 2 of the conference semifinals and pushed their series lead to 2-0.
Harden shot 3-for-13 from the field and committed a costly turnover with 30 seconds left, a late mistake that helped seal Detroit's second straight win after a 111-101 victory in Game 1 two days earlier.
The Cavaliers brought Harden in at this year’s trade deadline to help drive a deeper playoff run than last season, when they were the East’s top seed but were upset by the Indiana Pacers 4-1 in the conference semifinals. Instead, the first two games of this series have put Cleveland in an early hole, with Harden unable to match the level expected from a three-time scoring champion and 11-time All-Star.
Harden’s rough night also added to a larger playoff pattern. According to Insights, Game 2 was his 20th postseason game with 25% shooting or worse on at least 10 field-goal attempts, breaking a tie with Bob Cousy for the most such games in the shot-clock era since 1954-55.
He sounded frustrated after the loss, saying Cleveland won the possession game but did not make enough shots and had plenty of chances. He also pointed to the challenge of figuring out what works and what does not, and of finding the right balance between being aggressive and getting teammates shots.
The warning for Cleveland is immediate. Harden scored 22 points in Game 1 on 6-for-15 shooting and made 1 of 7 3-pointers, but he also had seven assists and seven turnovers, and now the Cavaliers have to reset quickly before hosting Detroit in Game 3 on Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. ET.
For Cleveland, the task is no longer about easing into the series or waiting for the offense to settle. It has to answer Detroit’s pressure now, because a 2-0 deficit in the conference semifinals leaves little room for another off night from the player it traded for to change everything.
