Nets' James Harden Says He's Getting His Bounce Back After Early Struggles

Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden looks to be getting back to his old self, notching a triple-double in Wednesday's win over the Orlando Magic.

Harden, who had some early season struggles while he was still working his way back from a hamstring injury, told reporters that he finally feels like his legs are back under him.

"I tried to push the pace a little bit, you know, feeling good. My bounce is a little bit, you know, is getting back," Harden said. "So I tried to push the pace and get in the teeth of the defense and create opportunities for my teammates."

Harden scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in Brooklyn's 123-90 victory. It was his third triple-double of the season as the Nets improved to 8-4. Despite the solid performance, Harden downplayed it and said he just took what the Orlando defense gave him.

"They had two on the ball, I made the right play and guys converted," Harden said. "Other games might not be like that. I might be able to score the basketball. So I just read the game and try to play to the best of my ability."

Entering Wednesday's contest, Harden was averaging 18.3 points, his lowest mark since his third year in the NBA when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He had an average of 8.5 assists after averaging over 10.0 in each of the past two seasons. His average of 4.5 turnovers is his highest since 2019-20 with the Houston Rockets.

Harden has struggled with efficiency this year. Including Wednesday's 6-of-11 performance, he has shot over 45.0 percent from the field just four times. For the month of October, he shot 39.8 percent overall and 38.5 percent from three-point range.

With Wednesday's victory, the Nets have now won six of their last seven games. Brooklyn will look to stay hot in a road matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.