It was a first quarter to forget for Houston Rockets star James Harden on Monday, with the former MVP scoring just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting.
However, it’ll likely be remembered for a while because of a confrontation he with Spurs guard Dejounte Murray.
Harden drove inside regularly and appeared to draw contact on several occasions, but officials didn’t grant him a single free throw in the quarter.
Harden’s frustration was evident in his body language on the court, and it boiled over in a physical altercation with Murray in which both players engaged in light shoving and were given technical fouls.
As Rockets fall behind, 22-7, following a Tucker turnover and Murray break, Murray and Harden square off. Harden believed Murray walked on him after the bucket and shoved ball into him. Harden shoved Murray. Double Ts.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 17, 2019
Dejounte Murray and Harden going at it đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/kIwlZutmI2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 17, 2019
Some of Harden’s frustration may also have had to do with the opponent. The Rockets lost by two to the Spurs earlier this month in a game remembered for his dunk that didn’t count, and they were also denied their ensuing protest over that sequence.
In 20 games before the protest, Harden averaged 14.9 free-throw attempts per game. But the NBA’s scoring leader had a very different whistle in the six games since, averaging just 8.5 free throws per game.
The Rockets (17-9) fell behind 16-2 in the opening minutes of Monday’s game and trailed 35-21 after the first quarter, with Harden’s sub-standard contributions a key early storyline.