On Friday night, James Harden ‘made’ one of the most bizarre plays of the 2021/22 NBA season. The Brooklyn Nets traveled to visit the Detroit Pistons and face the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham.
The Nets got the 96-90 win at Little Caesars Arena, but James Harden starred in a very weird play that cost his team two points in the 3rd quarter. With a little more than 3 minutes in the quarter, Harden went against Saddiq Bey, dribbling the ball and losing it.
The Beard returned to the defensive end to let the ball out without knowing Bey was closely following him. Out of nowhere, he stopped trying and the second-year player took advantage of that, stealing the ball and dunking it to get his team two points.
??? pic.twitter.com/M17dqLOva5
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 6, 2021
This was an odd play. He suddenly stopped caring about the game and Bey didn’t miss his chance. Nobody could believe what he did, not even Steve Nash, who looked really pissed on the sideline.
NBA fans reacted to this, trolling Harden’s actions, wondering what happened to him during that moment.
His controller died
— KEY 🧟♂️☄️ (@Key6below) November 6, 2021
Terrible bone headed mistakes by Harden. I’d take this mid 3rd quarter over Russ during crunch time yesterday. Lol. Not really a Harden guy either tbh, just rather have him than Russ.
— Josh (@josh111520) November 6, 2021
See I would agree but this had nothing to do with any foul. He ran, stopped on realizing who he is then immediately froze. He looked away. I expected him to run and dive for the ball. He had possession of the ball. Instead he pulled this 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/XkgDhuA5RH
— re’ut (@RuthJessDaniels) November 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/NFantismo/status/1456792587449290753https://twitter.com/KingHassan__/status/1456791971218038792
It’s a backcourt violation of harden touches. Low energy play, for sure.
— Jacob Boyd (@jacobpostretro) November 6, 2021
Man said https://t.co/AQru7aqEVM
— Steve (@Steve_LFC19) November 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/BigStepa206/status/1456799009922715652
Tbh is Steve Nash for me bro. He so confused. Should I call timeout and yell at him or get him to the nearest doctor pic.twitter.com/Fr2YKdl9jj
— 🅣 🅗 🅤 🅖 🅕 🅡 🅔 🅔 (@eviilflame) November 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/MoeOmar_23/status/1456791736852918272
Ya know, sometimes dudes just forget how to play basketball pic.twitter.com/7L9nt3bWQD
— Michael Nu/Sun (@Spartan901) November 6, 2021
Went for a jog and said I’m done for the day
— ☕️ (@TTill99) November 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/NFantismo/status/1456791521026584587
Harden since the new rules pic.twitter.com/qoFXMEzK9j
— Keegs💫 (@Keegs704) November 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/jaredshetler/status/1456793635450671105https://twitter.com/PaulWWestbrook/status/1456791286300741640
Did Harden decide to give the bucket instead of taking a turnover?
— Joe Debrincat (@slimskatey66) November 6, 2021
If Steve Nash's reaction isn't becoming a meme, we failed as a society
— Eran Soroka (@sorokman) November 6, 2021
In the end, the Nets got the best of the Pistons, beating them to get their 6th win of the season, climbing to 4th in the Eastern Conference. Even after recording one of the worst plays we’ve seen in recent times, Harden finished the game with a triple-double, dropping 13 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing 10 assists. Kevin Durant added 29 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists for his side.
After a rough start to the season, the Nets are showing a better face. They will try to avoid making silly mistakes like Harden’s, but things look promising for Steve Nash’s team now.
