West Conf. Finals - Game 5: Golden State Warriors 94-98 Houston Rockets - 5 Talking Points

#3 James Harden struggles

James Harden

Oh boy, what on earth is going on here?

After a spectacular 1st half in Game 4, in which he scored 23 points, James Harden's offense has completely fallen apart. He had just 7 points in the 2nd half of that one and that poor run continued to Game 5. After missing his last 9 three-pointers in Game 4, he went a ghastly 0/11 in this one and shot 5/21 from the field to finish with 19 points. Going 9/9 from the Free throw line made it look like a better night than it actually was.

Harden's game just looks off at this point, as he's also been missing some freebies at the rim as well, but credit to him for stepping up a bit on defense to compensate for it. He had a key block on Durant in the final few minutes in this one as the Rockets hung on late. While D'Antoni would be thrilled to have won this game, Harden's scoring troubles are bound to be a concern.