NBA: James Harden returns to inhospitable Golden State with Cavaliers

James Harden will face one of his least favorite road arenas for the first time as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, when Cleveland closes out a three-game Western road trip in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

The 17-year NBA veteran, who has played all but 181 of his 1,217 career games for a Western Conference team, was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cavaliers in February. Since then, Harden has visited seven of his former Western rivals, with Cleveland going 5-2 in those games.

The 36-year-old California native has struggled a bit during the current trip, scoring a total of 30 points and shooting 3-for-10 from three-point range as the Cavaliers split their first two games, beating Utah before falling 127-113 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Cleveland enters Thursday’s matchup with a 47-29 record.

Counting the playoffs, Harden has faced the Warriors 71 times in his career, holding a 36-35 record, including just 7-16 in four playoff-series losses. Oakland and San Francisco have been especially challenging for him, with Harden losing 21 of 36 visits, including 11 of 12 in the postseason.

Despite the tough matchups, Harden has produced several individual highlights in the Bay Area, including two 39-point games, a triple-double with 44 points, another triple-double with 15 rebounds, and a third while recording 15 assists. He also had 45- and 41-point outings in playoff wins for the Houston Rockets in 2015 and 2019.

Harden ranks fourth among active players in points scored against the Warriors with 1,122, just shy of Russell Westbrook’s 1,134. He also leads in three-pointers (139), ranks third in assists (347) and steals (78), and is sixth in rebounds (261) against the Warriors.

The Warriors visited Cleveland in December without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III, and Draymond Green, and shocked the Cavaliers 99-94. Pat Spencer led the Warriors with 19 points.

For Thursday’s rematch, Curry and Butler will again be unavailable, while Cleveland will have Max Strus and Sam Merrill back in the lineup. Harden highlighted the importance of having skilled role players alongside him.

“Two of the smartest basketball players that I've played with,” Harden said. “Obviously they can shoot the crap out of the ball, but their body movement – knowing when to screen, when not to screen, how to screen – is very, very important for somebody that can actually shoot the ball like them. It's rare that you can have that. When you find that, it means you got something special.”

The Cavaliers aim to keep pace with the New York Knicks (49-28) in the race for third place in the Eastern Conference, while the Warriors (36-40) look to stay competitive in the West, where the Portland Trail Blazers (39-38) hold ninth place.

Golden State is coming off a 127-113 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the first game of a back-to-back. Coach Steve Kerr said Curry, who has missed 26 straight games with a sore knee, could return by the end of the week.

“Everybody said he looked good and felt good,” Kerr said after Curry’s five-on-five session Tuesday. “He'll have another scrimmage in the next couple of days. That's the next step.”

The Warriors will face another of Harden’s former teams, the Houston Rockets, on Sunday.

-Field Level Media/Reuters