This is what the Cleveland Cavaliers brought in James Harden for. The Beard unleashed 30 points in the Cavaliers’ miracle win against the Detroit Pistons in Game 5. Harden had his finest performance, controlling the tempo and making timely shots. It was almost perfect, until overtime gave Cavs fans a few scares. Just remember, before tonight, the former MVP had only missed one free throw in the entire series.

That was true until the end of the regulation. However, James Harden missed thrice from the charity stripe, giving the Pistons ample chances at landing the dagger blow themselves. Harden was obviously hard on himself for missing some great opportunities for the Cavs. “Missed floaters, free throws. I had a bunch of opportunities that I should be making that I work on. They didn’t go in, but I’m happy and proud of our team for how we played, man,” he told Lisa Salters.

The Emmy award-winning journalist has a great relationship with most players. That’s probably why she could tell Harden, “Work on your free throws,” after their interview. The Beard went 11-14 from the charity stripe in Game 5. It’s the highest number of free throw attempts he’s had in the series against Detroit.

That fatigue, playing overtime after exerting himself to stitch a 21-5 fourth quarter run, must have impacted Harden’s conversion rate. The 36-year-old played the most minutes for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while also leading the team in scoring. That’s where some of Harden’s signature floaters hit back iron in overtime, and he couldn’t precisely control his shots from the charity stripe.

But at the end of the day, James Harden was proud of the Cavaliers’ display. They came back from a large deficit to win their first game on the road. They’ll have a chance to close out the series at home and head to their first conference finals since 2018. And along the way, they might need some luck again.

A missed foul and a lucky rebound help the Cavaliers

James Harden didn’t have an explanation for missing crucial free throws in overtime. Although he played 43 minutes, the veteran has been in these situations before. He shot 84% on the season. But those misses didn’t hurt Cleveland as much. Notably, on Harden’s last miss, he somehow got the offensive board.

“I don’t know. Luck maybe,” James Harden said about claiming his own missed free-throw in overtime.

It was a complete lapse of judgment on the Pistons’ part. Had they retained possession, they would have had the chance to go for the tie. Cade Cunningham had 39 at the time, having missed a three-pointer because his foot was on the line just a few possessions ago. After their slip-up, the Pistons had the chance to recover. But they weren’t as sharp as they were to end overtime.

That’s where the luck factor first came into play for the Cavaliers. Pistons’ Ausar Thompson played splendid defense to erase a game-winning attempt from Donovan Mitchell. With 2 seconds left, he had the ball and a clear path for Daniss Jenkins. However, before Thompson could throw, Jarrett Allen wiped him off like a bowling ball.

Ausar, JB Bickerstaff, and the Pistons were incensed that it wasn’t called a loose-ball foul. “(Jarrett Allen) fouled Ausar. It’s clear. He trips him when he’s going for a loose ball. End of game situation, that’s tough,” said the Pistons head coach. Cade Cunningham echoed the same frustrations after the game.

This was a game of fine margins, with even luck influencing the result. The Cavaliers will take it, with a chance to qualify further. And they haven’t lost at home in the postseason yet. Do you think the Pistons have what it takes to break that pattern? Let us know your views in the comments below.