On February 2, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season is in full swing. In today's focus battle, the Nets took on the Suns on the road. After 48 minutes of fierce competition, the Nets finally lost to the Suns 111-121, suffering a five-game losing streak.
In today's game, Harden came back after a two-game truce, but his performance was difficult to satisfy. Throughout the game, Harden played 37 minutes, shooting 6-of-19, including 3-of-8 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, totaling 22 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists, with as many as 4 turnovers.
In the first quarter, Harden was in hot form, scoring 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting in the quarter and giving 4 assists to his teammates. However, the Nets as a whole struggled to stop the Suns' strong offense, trailing 29-39.
In the second quarter, Harden hit two consecutive three-pointers on the outside and scored eight points and two assists in a single quarter. But there was one round of this section that sparked controversy. In a wave of the Nets' offense, Harden broke through with the ball, the Suns Paul pressed close to the defense, and Harden hit Paul's chin with his elbow when he started. After carefully reviewing the video, the referee blew Harden a first-degree malicious foul.
In the third quarter, the Nets briefly reversed the score, but the Suns soon regained a double-digit lead. Harden scored five points on just 2-of-8 shooting in this quarter. In a wave of offense, Harden broke through to the basket to throw a shot, but was blocked by the Suns McGee. Harden was very dissatisfied with the suspicion of interfering with the ball, but helplessly became McGee's background board.
In the final quarter of the showdown, Harden did not show much performance, the two shots were all deflected, relying only on free throws to get 2 points and 1 assist, helpless to swallow another defeat on the road.
According to the schedule, the Nets will challenge the Kings tomorrow away from home, and they will strive to win to avoid a six-game losing streak.