Cavaliers’ James Harden bounces back with late takeover in Game 3

James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks to media after his team’s 116-109 win over the Detroit Pistons in Game Three of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Rocket Arena on May 09, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. Jason Miller/Getty Images/AFP

CLEVELAND — James Harden endured plenty of criticism after the first two games of Cleveland’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Detroit.

With the Cavaliers in danger of falling into a 3-0 hole that no NBA team has ever overcome, the 17-year veteran showed he can still come up big in the clutch.

Harden hit three shots in the final two minutes Saturday to lift the Cavaliers to a 116-109 victory over the Pistons in Game 3.

READ: NBA Playoffs: Harden, Mitchell help Cavaliers avoid 0-3 vs Pistons

"I love it… It's something I work on literally every day."@JHarden13 loves coming up HUGE for his team down the stretch! https://t.co/AyFofNOuVX pic.twitter.com/WCFKQzrrRf

— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2026

“I love it. When my number’s called, just getting to my spots,” said Harden, who finished with 19 points and seven assists in 40 minutes. “Don(ovan) Mitchell had been working so extremely hard throughout the course of the game, just trying to find opportunities to help him. So that last minute and a half, two minutes, however long it was, it presented itself. And for me, just going out there and taking my shots.”

Harden was 8 of 14 from the field after going 3 of 13 in Thursday’s 107-97 loss at Detroit. His long-distance shooting also picked up as he went 3 of 7 on 3-pointers. He was 3 of 20 from beyond the arc in his last four games before Saturday.

“It’s the James Harden I’ve seen for how many years he’s been in the NBA. That’s the James we needed tonight,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We were searching and we got some good screenings into the matchups we wanted and he went to work.”

Harden was scoreless in the fourth quarter and took only two shots during the second half on Thursday, along with a critical turnover in the final minute that ended any hopes of a Cleveland comeback.

The 2018 NBA MVP had nine points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, with seven coming in the final 89 seconds.

READ: NBA Playoffs: Cavaliers’ James Harden plagued by turnovers, poor shooting

With the shot clock running down, Harden drove the lane and hit a 16-foot step-back jumper with 1:29 remaining to push Cleveland’s lead to 108-104.

After a driving dunk by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Harden came up big again. He drove past Duncan Robinson and made a floating 7-footer in the paint to put the lead back up to four.

Cunningham responded with a 3-pointer before Harden provided the decisive blow with 25 seconds remaining on a step-back 3-pointer while being guarded by Tobias Harris to make it 113-109.

″(James Harden) We understand that he hit some tough shots and made an impact on the game. But we can be tougher than that,” Harris said.

READ: NBA: Cade Cunningham, Pistons turn back Cavaliers for 2-0 lead

After committing 11 turnovers the first two games of the Detroit series and averaging 5.2 in Cleveland’s first nine playoff games, Harden had only three on Saturday. It was only the second time he has committed fewer than four this postseason.

“I’m literally here to find my spots and figure out what needs to be done and try to contribute in the best way possible. So I mean, chatter is going to be chatter regardless. I mean, whether you do something good, whether you do something bad,” Harden said. “I’ve done an unbelievable job throughout the course of my career of just understanding what the job needs to be, especially as I get older and doing whatever it takes to win the game. So that’s the most important thing.”

Mitchell, who had 35 points and 10 rebounds, said there is a balance for opponents in figuring out who to guard because of the scoring ability of him and Harden.

“Having the ultimate trust in him and vice versa I think is why those moments happen. Every game calls for something different and you’ve got to be able to just kind of find a way to manipulate it and be selfless. And I think as a collective, that’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said.