James Harden Claps Back at 'Chatter' About His Play After Late Scoring Flurry in Cavs' G3 Win

James Harden responded to "chatter" surrounding his performance in the playoffs after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 116-109 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of their second-round series on Saturday.

"What chatter?" Harden said in an interview after the game.

"I play basketball and whatever this team needs me to do, I'm gonna go out there and do it," he added. "Letting the game play out, fourth quarter my number was called and I go to work."

Harden Responds to the chatter

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Harden scored 19 points in the win, with nine coming in the fourth quarter. He also dished out seven assists and grabbed two rebounds, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point territory.

JAMES HARDEN DOMINATES IN FINAL 90 SECONDS

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With Cleveland holding a narrow 106-104 lead and two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Harden scored the Cavs' next seven points to help them emerge victorious.

It was a crucial win for Cleveland, as a loss would have given Detroit a commanding 3-0 series edge. Instead, the Pistons lead 2-1.

Prior to Saturday's contest, Harden's playoff struggles were a topic of discussion around the league.

In the former MVP's first nine postseason games this year, he was averaging just 19.6 points and 5.9 assists compared to 5.2 turnovers per game.

Harden also shot just 42.3 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from behind the arc across that span, representing a decrease in efficiency after he recorded 20.5 points per game on 46.6/43.5/84.0 shooting splits with Cleveland during his 2025-26 campaign.

The Cavs took down the Toronto Raptors in seven games to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs and are now looking to make their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2018.

Game 4 between Cleveland and Detroit is on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.