LeBron on Harden: ‘One of the greatest scorers we’ve ever seen’

James Harden has outscored LeBron James in eight straight head-to-head matchups. That’s the longest streak by any player in James’ career.

James Harden didn’t get the win that he wanted for the Houston Rockets, but he did earn respect from one of the NBA’s all-time greats.

Harden scored 34 points in Saturday’s loss, which was very close to his historic average of 37.1 points per game this season. That’s the highest total by any NBA player in 56 years, and the most by a guard, ever.

In ABC’s on-court postgame interview of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James just after the game went final, the four-time MVP and three-time NBA champion had this to say about defending Harden:

That’s just one of the greatest scorers we’ve ever seen in this game. He’s going to take some shots, and he’s going to make a lot, too.

However, the Lakers were effective in keeping the 2018 MVP below his usual efficiency. Harden’s 34 points Saturday came on 40.0% shooting overall and 22.2% on 3-pointers, well below his 2019-20 averages of 44.5% from the field and 37.0% from 3-point range.

[lawrence-related id=22351]

While veteran guard Danny Green often served as the initial defender on Harden, it was the collective length of the Lakers — including the 6-foot-9 James — that really posed problems for Harden and the Rockets. That limited driving lanes, and it also meant there was a help defender able to trap or contest late, if deemed necessary.

Regarding their defensive strategy against Harden, James said:

We just had to keep him off the 3-point line, and try to keep him off the free-throw line. … Any time he went into his dance, went into his iso, we just tried to put a second body. Make him give the ball up. Some of the ones he missed, we had some good containments and some good contests, so that worked out well for us.

For his part, James led the Lakers with 31 points (52% shooting) and 12 assists. Harden now has a streak of outscoring James in eight consecutive head-to-head meetings, which is the longest by any player against James in his storied 17-year NBA career.

But James got the real prize with the victory, reversing a trend in which Harden’s team had won five of the last six in matchups against James. The two future Hall of Famers are scheduled for a rematch on Thursday, Feb. 6, when the Lakers host the Rockets.

[lawrence-related id=22239,20137]