After being listed as questionable for Tuesday night’s game in Portland, James Harden acknowledged that he was “very close” to not playing before opting in after going through pregame warmups.
Harden took a hit just before halftime of Sunday’s home game against the Wizards but returned to play the second half. Brooklyn’s status report on Monday listed him with neck soreness.
Over the last seven full 82-game seasons through the 2018-19 season, Harden averaged 78 games per year. This season, he’s leading the NBA in minutes per game (38.0).
He played 40 minutes in the 116-112 win over Portland, putting up 17 assists — his highest total in 30 games with the Nets — and leading Brooklyn with 25 points.
“I love to hoop,” said Harden. “I love to be out there and taking on the challenge of finding ways to win games. In basketball, everything isn't gonna be perfect. Whether you're playing through injuries or playing banged up, I just think in life, everything isn't always gonna be perfect, so you find ways to fight through adversity. Obviously, when you're hurt, you're hurt. You sit out. But I try to find a way to just go out there and make an impact and play if I'm able to, if I'm not risking anything, if that makes sense. And that's how I've been throughout the course of my career.
“Throughout the regular season, I think everybody knows I love to play. I don't really rest. I love to hoop. I love to be out there and be there for my teammates. I feel like if I'm on the court, my teammates have a better chance of winning. So that's just my mindset. Tomorrow when I wake up, if I feel like I can go, I'm gonna go. It's just that simple.”
NEXT MAN UP DELIVERS AGAIN
While James Harden was able to play, the Nets took off for their three-game road trip without Kyrie Irving and Landry Shamet. Irving is away from the team to tend to a family matter, while Shamet suffered an ankle sprain Sunday against Washington.
So the Nets, who have also been playing without Kevin Durant for all but one game since Feb. 6, rolled out their 22nd different starting lineup of the season. The rotation included Blake Griffin, who made his Nets debut on Sunday, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who has played sparingly since returning after missing several games due to knee soreness. And they won again, for the 16th time in 18 games.
Luwawu-Cabarrot hit two 3-pointers in the first-quarter shootout and finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with four rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. Griffin made 3-of-4 shots to finish with eight points and five rebounds.
Tyler Johnson, who has been a reliable part of the second unit since moving into the rotation with Durant’s absence, came through with a 3-pointer when the Nets were leading by two points midway through the fourth quarter, and with the Blazers back within three points in the final minutes, hit a baseline jumper for another five-point lead.
“It’s a difficult spot when you have inconsistent minutes,” said Harris. “That’s a challenge in itself to find that rhythm, but they’re guys that are professional, they come in every day, they’re about the right stuff. We can always count on them and I think it shows up in games like tonight we’re you’re gonna ask more of those guys that some of them, like TLC, he was injured, a little bit banged up coming out of the break, inconsistent minutes since the break, and then tonight he comes in and plays a huge role for us and that kind of goes back to what I said about guys from the top of the roster all the way down to the bottom. We have capable players that are able to come in and help us win games.”
ABOUT THE JAZZ
The Jazz have the best record in the league at 31-11. The Nets won the previous meeting 130-96 at Barclays Center on Jan. 5. When the Jazz lost to the Knicks the next night, they were 4-4. They’re 27-7 since. Utah is third in the NBA in both points per game (116.7) and offensive rating. They score 43.4 percent of their points from 3-point range, the leading rate in the league, while ranking first in 3-pointers made (16.9) and attempted (42.7) per game and third in 3-point percentage (39.6). Utah is also first in net rating (8.3) and seventh in defensive rating (109.5), second in rebounds per game (47.8) and rebound percentage (52.8). Rudy Gobert is second in the league in both rebounds (13.5) and blocks per game (2.8) and fourth in field goal percentage (64.1) while averaging 14.5 points per game. Donovan Mitchell leads Utah with 25.4 points per game. Mike Conley is shooting 42.2 percent from 3-point range and averaging 16.4 points and Joe Ingles is shooting 50.0 percent from 3-point range and averaging 12.3 points.