{"id":666283,"date":"2026-05-26T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666283\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:59:10","slug":"james-harden-achieved-two-nba-milestones-despite-cavs-loss-to-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666283\/","title":{"rendered":"James Harden Achieved Two NBA Milestones Despite Cavs’ Loss to Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> are out of the playoffs after losing to the New York Knicks<\/a> in the Eastern Conference Finals. Making matters worse, the Cavs didn’t pose a threat at all, with New York<\/a> sweeping them in the series.<\/p>\n

Cleveland lost by an average of 19.25 points in the series, with their closest one being the 11-point defeat in Game 1 when New York erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit<\/a>. In Game 4 on Monday, the Knicks blew out the Cavs by 37 points, 130-93.<\/p>\n

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James Harden<\/a>, in particular, struggled mightily against the Knicks. Offensively, he never scored more than 20 points. He even tallied just 12 points in Game 4, shooting 2-of-8 from the field and failing to make any of his six 3-point attempts.<\/p>\n

On the other end, the Knicks kept taking advantage of him, with Jalen Brunson<\/a> relentlessly attacking him and exposing the Cavs’ defense.<\/p>\n

\"Cleveland<\/p>\n

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) stands on the court during a game.David Richard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Despite Harden’s poor performance, however, he still made history during the playoff series. Monday’s contest was his 191st postseason outing<\/a>, allowing him to surpass Magic Johnson (190) in playoff games played.<\/p>\n

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Harden also entered the game<\/a> with 1,210 playoff free throws. By making eight shots from the charity stripe during the showdown, he surpassed both Jerry West (1,213) and Tim Duncan<\/a> (1,217) to climb to No. 6 in the all-time free-throws made list.<\/p>\n

The NBA<\/a> announced his accomplishments on social media and made sure to congratulate him during the game.<\/p>\n

Despite his achievements, though, there was plenty of criticism of Harden. Many viewers pointed out that he’s a big reason why the Cavs lost to the Knicks.<\/p>\n

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For what it’s worth, Donovan Mitchell came to Harden’s defense<\/a> after the Cavaliers’ playoff exit, reminding everyone of his greatness and how he changed the game of basketball.<\/p>\n

Related: Knicks’ Historic Win Against Cavaliers Came With Major Officiating Mistakes<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on May 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n