James Harden: Houston Rockets star makes admission after losing streak in Portland defeat
JAMES HARDEN has admitted that his shots felt ‘flat’ as he lost his 40 point-per-game streak against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
The Rockets were defeated 110-101 by the Trail Blazers, snapping a six-game win streak.
The winning streak was not the only one snapped by Portland, as Harden also lost his scoring record.
The star scored 38 points in 37 minutes in the defeat.
It was the first time in six games that he had scored below 40 in a game.
The streak even led to Rockets general manager Daryl Morley to claim Harden was the best offensive player in NBA history.
However, after the Portland loss, Harden admitted he only cared about getting wins, rather than individual accolades.
“Honestly that streak is pretty cool for stats and whatnot, but honestly the win is more important,” Harden told ESPN.
“So, came up short and now we've got another opportunity to go home and play Denver, who's playing exceptionally well.
“So we've got to regroup.”
Harden declared that he should be in the contention for the NBA’s most valuable player award at the end of the season.
He had an impressive December, scoring 400 points in ten games straight, a feat only matched by Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in the last 30 years.
But he admitted that he just didn’t feel like himself in the Portland loss.
“My shots were flat in the beginning of the game,” he said.
“So I just had to adjust a little bit, get them up.
“That was another thing, for myself I've got to get off to a better start.
“I picked it up in the third quarter and the second half, but that first half I had the same opportunities I normally get but my shot was just a little flat."