James Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined for 68 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers prevailed for their fourth straight victory with Tuesday’s 136-131 home triumph over the Orlando Magic.
While Mitchell did the bulk of the heavy lifting late, Harden left the NBA world in disbelief with a crafty fourth-quarter pass.
James Harden’s Passing Mastery Takes NBA World by Storm
Mitchell continued his dominance against Orlando, scoring a game-high 42 points, marking his second 40-point game against the Magic this season and sixth overall, tied for fourth-most in the NBA.
The seven-time All-Star came up big with his clutch shot-making down the stretch, including a dagger floater that put Cleveland in front 133-128 with 13.7 seconds remaining.
However, Harden’s complementary scoring and facilitation also proved vital. Midway through the fourth quarter, the 2018 MVP delivered arguably the highlight of the game.
With the Cavaliers’ lead whittled down from 114-103 to 116-112, Harden drove straight into a double-team from Orlando forward Tristan Da Silva and guard Desmond Bane with the shot-clock winding down.
Without hesitation, he slung a no-look, behind-the-back pass out to sharpshooter Max Strus, who cashed a 3-pointer to extend Cleveland’s advantage to 119-112 with 6:48 to go.
The big-time play, which staved off the Magic’s Paolo Banchero-led comeback, promptly went viral on X, sparking astonishment.
HOW did James Harden make this pass?! 🤯
In midair. Behind the back. Without looking.
Just RIDICULOUS from The Beard. pic.twitter.com/wZQBBmpy6I
— NBA (@NBA) March 25, 2026
“HOW did James Harden make this pass?! 🤯 In midair. Behind the back. Without looking. Just RIDICULOUS from The Beard,” the NBA’s official X account captioned the play.
“THIS JAMES HARDEN PASS 🤯,” Bleacher Report reacted.
“JAMES HARDEN NO WAY?!? 🤯” Hoop Central wrote.
“James Harden with the absolute sick no-look behind-the-back pass to Max Strus for the 3-pointer to beat the shot clock …Â A MAGICIAN,” NBA personality MrBuckBuck asserted.
“What a crazy pass from Harden, literally superb and he wasn’t even looking either,” Prominent NBA fan account @FeelLikeDrew raved.
Harden’s head-turning pass marked 1 of his 7 assists on the night. While 22 of his 26 points came in the first half, Mitchell sang his co-star’s praises postgame.
“Offensively, I mean, he is who he is. He makes my life a hell of a lot easier, and I am who I am,” Mitchell said. “But as a collective, him and I, just trying to make everybody else around us better.”
With Tuesday’s victory, Cleveland (45-27) improved to 14-4 with Harden in the lineup, highlighting the 17-year veteran’s immense impact since his blockbuster trade deadline move from the Los Angeles Clippers.
