The Houston Rockets were unable to get off on the right foot following their 119-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Fortunately, the same cannot be said for shooting guard James Harden.
Harden has managed to kick off each series with a bang this postseason and this one was no different. According to ESPN, he became the first player to register more than 40 points in three straight Game 1’s:
James Harden is the 1st player in NBA history to score 40+ in three straight Game 1s to open a postseason. #SCFacts pic.twitter.com/R3Fq2GuCmm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2018
It goes without saying that Harden has enjoyed some stellar performances in Game 1 of the postseason thus far. His first came against the Minnesota Timberwolves when he shot the lights out with a 15-of-26 shooting mark while hitting seven of his 12 long-distance attempts.
He managed to set the tone in their series against the Utah Jazz as well with 41 points on 12-of-26 shooting while once again hitting seven of his 12 threes. However, his recent performance may have been his best one yet after scoring 41 points on an efficient 14-of-24 shooting and going 5-of-9 from deep.
Unfortunately, it was to no avail as the Rockets were promptly beaten by the Warriors to take homecourt advantage. Although it was a disappointing first game, it is still encouraging to see that Harden is able to have his way with the formidable defense of Golden State. Then again, that was to be expected considering he is the frontrunner to take him this year’s MVP award. If Houston is unable to bounce back strong in Game 2, then that may be the only honor that Harden rests his laurels on after this season.
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