Tag: Mike D’Antoni

James Harden sits out Sunday with thigh bruise, doubtful for Monday

Harden (thigh bruise) sat out Sunday in Denver and is doubtful for Monday in Utah. Russell Westbrook (rest) played Sunday but is out Monday.

Houston Rockets guard James Harden sat out Sunday’s game in Denver due to a left thigh contusion, and he’s doubtful for Monday in Utah.

Head coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed the news in his pregame media session with reporters. While backcourt co-star Russell Westbrook played Sunday against the Nuggets, he’s expected to also be out versus the Jazz, as part of a season-long maintenance plan after offseason knee surgery.

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After setting season-high point totals in his last two games, Eric Gordon started in Harden’s place Sunday. It appears Gordon will start on Monday, too, since Westbrook is out and Harden doubtful. Both games are critical to the Western Conference playoff race, since Houston (28-16) entered Sunday narrowly trailing Denver (31-14) and Utah (32-13).

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As for Harden, he suffered his injury in the third quarter of Friday’s victory at Minnesota when Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns accidentally hit him with a knee to the thigh area.

After the collision, Harden kept his thigh loose by riding an exercise bike during his bench minutes before returning to play in the fourth quarter. But while Harden was on the floor, he seemed to lack his usual mobility.

Harden scored a season-low 12 points against the Timberwolves on just 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%) from the field and 0-of-6 on 3-pointers.

For the 2019-20 season overall, Harden leads the NBA in scoring at 36.1 points per game, and he’s also 11th in assists at 7.3 per game.

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