Houston Rockets guard James Harden battled more than the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday to lead his team to a 124-103 win. The Nike-sponsored player notched his first career playoff triple-double while fighting flu-like symptoms.
With the Rockets facing playoff elimination, the bearded baller — with the help of a pre-game IV —posted 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, shortening the Clippers’ series lead to just one game, with game six set for Thursday in Los Angeles.
Harden posted his triple-double in a player’s edition of the Nike Zoom Run the One. The shoe was predominantly red, boasting a red upper, red and wolf-gray outsole, with black accents on the interior and a toe-to-midsole swoosh and the script Harden logo on the heel.
The 21-point win for Houston saved them from being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Los Angeles after losing back-to-back games by at least 25 points to the Clippers — a 25-point loss in game three and a 33-point loss in game four.
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Harden’s 26-point effort was his second-highest point total of the second round; the guard scored 32 points in game two. Harden’s 2015 postseason scoring high came in game three of the opening playoff round against the Dallas Mavericks, where he posted 42 points against the in-state foe.
