James Harden scored seven straight points in the final possessions, including the dagger three-point shot to seal Game 3 for the Cavaliers against the Pistons in their Eastern Conference semifinals series with a 116-109 win.
Harden scored 7 STRAIGHT points in crunch time.
And people really be doubting him smh pic.twitter.com/PLtdMBKFxN
— BGN Hoops (@BGNHoops) May 9, 2026
Despite his clutch performance, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal did not seem happy with his performance. During his appearance on Inside the NBA, the Lakers’ legend spoke his mind on the 36-year-old veteran guard.
“James is a Hall of Fame-level player who will always be remembered for his scoring and his shooting. And he had a really nice game today down the stretch, where he hit three timely buckets, especially that three where he thought he got fouled. He played well, and I’m happy for him,” said O’Neal initially.
“But now, the question is, can you continue to do it, and you continue to go up from here? Because over the past years, we’ve seen one good game and then we’ve seen four or five bad games.”
“Definitely got to win the next one and start winning on the road. He was brought here to win a championship and not make them better and take them to the Eastern Conference Finals. When that trade was made, we realized that the backcourt was super dynamic. They were already dynamic, but with Harden, they became super dynamic.”
“But you know, he really hasn’t had a great game, but today was a good game, and hopefully this jump starts him to, you know, do what we expect him to do,” O’Neal concluded.
The 36-year-old veteran ended Game 3 with 19 points, seven assists, and two rebounds while shooting 8-14 from the field (57.1 FG%) and 3-7 from beyond the arc (42.9 3P%).
James Harden will probably not pay much attention to O’Neal pointing out his record, but Harden will also need to understand that O’Neal is coming from a place of expectation of excellence from the former MVP.
Harden, a player who once averaged over 30.0 points per game for three consecutive seasons with the Rockets, is now averaging 19.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 43.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc in the 2026 playoffs so far.
While O’Neal does not seem fully impressed with Harden until he proves his consistency in the playoffs, the 36-year-old will likely view this as the same chatter that he shut down after the game ended.
“I mean, honestly, I don’t really, as I’ve said before, it’s not even about anybody else. Like what we talk about in this locker room, and you know what we’re doing.”
“I didn’t average 30 points going into the regular season, you know what I mean? Like I’m literally here to find my spots, figure out what needs to be done, and try to contribute in the best way possible,” Harden further added on his courtside comments at the postgame press conference.
“So, I mean, chatter is going to be chatter regardless, you know, I mean, whether you do some good, whether you do something bad, um, you know, for me. So, I mean, still, you know, you give me opportunities in this fourth quarter and uh, I take advantage of them.”
“This is a make-or-miss league. You make shots and, you know, when you go out there, you get 30, they praise you. You know, you have a bad game or whatever the case may be. Or if that’s not your job, you know what I mean? Then people are going to talk.”
So, I’ve done an unbelievable job throughout the course of my career of just understanding what the job needs to be, especially, you know, as I get older, and doing whatever it takes to win the game. So, that’s the main thing that’s the most important,” Harden concluded.
So while Harden is content with redefining his career in Cleveland, O’Neal hopes that Harden can pull off a performance like his prime self to silence all the critics once and for all.
Do you think we will see more of the same from Harden, where he only saves his best for the fourth quarter (nine of his 19 points in the fourth in Game 3), or will we get a glimpse of prime James Harden in the rest of the playoffs? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
