HOUSTON -- James Harden blamed himself more than he credited the Milwaukee Bucks' excellent execution of their unique defensive scheme for his struggles to score in the Houston Rockets' 117-111 season-opening loss Thursday night.
Harden, the NBA's scoring champion in each of the last two seasons, finished with only 19 points on 2-of-13 shooting in the loss. He didn't have a field goal in the second half, when he was held to four free throws and the Bucks rallied from a 16-point deficit to win at the Toyota Center.
"Give them credit, they came back and played well in that second half, but this one is on me," said Harden, who had 14 assists and seven turnovers.