Putting defenders on skates is something James Harden does on the daily. But seeing him suffer, that is unusual. During the third quarter of Game 3 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, Harden was ‘floored’ by Anthony Davis.
Throughout the series, Harden has been guarding Davis. He has done well on many occasions, but during this possession, Davis left Harden embarrassed. With Harden not giving him any space, Davis attempted a turnaround jumper, and the former lost his balance and slipped. Davis shot from the mid-range as Harden slowly gathered himself.
AD had Harden slipping on this turnaround jumper. 👀 pic.twitter.com/jn2lOEa4k3
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 9, 2020
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Throughout the bubble, Davis has shown great footwork while trying to shake off defenders. It’s surprising how his footwork is so smooth despite him being a 7-footer. He makes it look so easy, and no other big man comes close to his skill level.
Anthony Davis and the Lakers grab the win
Both Harden and Davis were showing out for their teams tonight. Harden excelled in scoring as well as setting up his teammates. He had 33 points while shooting 11/23 from the field and has also got nine assists. With nine rebounds, he came close to getting a triple-double.
Davis, on the other hand, did what he does best. He killed the Rockets with his midrange jumpers and was also aggressive on the glass, grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds. After being out-rebounded in the previous game by Westbrook and Harden, he did the best to exploit their height mismatch tonight. He also had 26 points, as he shot 9/13 from the field.
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The Lakers lost Game 1 but since then have turned it around. They won Game 2, despite the Rockets showering them with threes. Towards the end, the Rockets drained and started bricking their shots.
Tonight, they were conservative with their outside shooting and shot just 30 threes compared to the 41 threes they took last game. But this change in their game plan didn’t help them much as they still slumped to a 10-point defeat. The Lakers were too good for them tonight, from the starters to the bench, and they head into Game 4 with all the momentum on their side now.
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