The Cleveland Cavaliers sustained a 93-89 loss in Game 4 to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. However, James Harden didn’t sound rattled, and he offered a dismissive reaction to the first four games of the series.
What James Harden Meant by ‘Nothing Crazy’ After Game 4 Loss
The Cavaliers led by 8 points with a little under 5 minutes left in the game, but Toronto edged in and closed the gap. Scottie Barnes drained 6 clutch free throws as Cleveland fell 93-89, evening the series at two games apiece.
The Toronto-Cleveland playoff series is now tied 2-2 as the Cavaliers head back to Rocket Arena for Game 5 on Wednesday. The momentum seems to be fading as questions were posed to Harden. His answer instantly drew a lot of attention, along with his box score.
“I think the seven quarters we been here, we been playing well,” Harden said. “We’ve had leads and we’ve had opportunities to go up and we just didn’t do it. It’s not like they’re doing something crazy.”
While Harden responded nonchalantly, the numbers actually tell a different story. Toronto managed to trap Harden and Donovan Mitchell relentlessly down the stretch, daring anyone else to beat them. It worked through and through as Barnes finished the game at the free-throw line.
Harden finished the game with 19 points and 7 turnovers on 6-for-14 shooting. He had 8 turnovers in Game 3, making it a total of 15 in both games in Toronto.
Over his last two playoff outings, both losses, Harden averaged 7.5 turnovers per game.
Despite this alarming statistic, his head coach took a different tone.
“There’s no doubt they’ve had the physicality advantage, the energy advantage these last two games,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Usually happens with the home team. We’ve got to turn it back around.”
Over his last two playoff games, Harden is averaging 18.5 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 40.7%. He is hitting 31.3% from 3-point range with a plus-minus of -16 across the two games against the Raptors.
The Cavs acquired Harden at the trade deadline from the LA Clippers. Los Angeles wanted to part ways with Harden as the organization did not see him as a long-term piece. His postseason history just made things easier for the Clippers to make that call.
Harden played two games with fewer than 12 points against the Denver Nuggets in the 2025 playoff run.
Harden’s patterns are also impossible to miss. He starts the regular season with hot streaks, but vanishes when the time to power up actually comes.
The year before, when he played against the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 26 points over four games, but then dropped to 7 points in Game 5. He went 0-for-6 from 3 in Game 6, and the Clippers were finally eliminated.
It looks like Cleveland is dealing with the same arc. He had two strong home games to open the series against the Raptors, but he has also had two pivotal letdowns in Toronto.
