Don’t say James Harden doesn’t play defense. With his clutch play on D in the closing moments of Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunder, it’s likely Houston would have been the team heading home.
Down by one with a one-second difference between the shot and game clock, OKC had trouble organizing in the offensive end to get a good look at a potential game-winner. With about five seconds left, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found a wide-open Luguentz Dort on the left wing. Harden, who had been guarding Steven Adams in the paint, sprinted out to meet Dort as he hoisted a three-point attempt and got the block.