James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets (Image: Getty)
James Harden delighted many NBA fans in the Houston Rockets’ win over the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night after he stared down an opponent just before shooting a 3-pointer.
In the first quarter, Harden was being guarded by Wesley Johnson. Harden fake-pumped, crossed over and Johnson tripped and fell to the floor. While the Clippers star lay on the court, Harden taunted him by pausing for a moment and staring at him, and then firing a 3 to give the Rockets a 31-7 lead with one minute remaining in the period.
Harden later revealed he was left confused by Johnson’s fall more than anything.
“It felt good man, I’ve been in my bag all year so it’s just one of those moves where I had to make him dance a little bit and made the shot,” the six-time All-Star said.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“… I was looking at him, and he was looking at me. I was just trying to figure out what he was doing. I was going to shoot it, but I was waiting to see, to figure out what was going on. I was confused. Like did the ref call side out of bounds?”
Harden’s teammate Eric Gordon also found the moment humorous.
“It was a great move,” Gordon said. “Of course, it was crazy. You don’t see things like that all the time. I definitely laughed. Everybody is going to be talking about that for a while.”
Some may have found Harden’s move disrespectful, but most fans seemed to have thought it was funny, judging from their reactions on Twitter.
One fan hilariously set the moment to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” — the music from the film Titanic — while another person referenced Black Panther to joke about the incident, adding a picture of Forest Whitaker’s character Zuri.
The Rockets beat the Clippers 105-92 to extend their winning streak to 14 games. Houston (48-13) is first in the Western Conference.
Did Johnson take this all to heart? Who knows, but we could find out soon.
CHARLOTTE, NC – OCTOBER 27: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets brings the ball up the court against the Charlotte Hornets during their game at Spectrum Center on October 27, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
In May 2002, backyard fighting legend Kimbo Slice was arrested for a felony gun charge…
On December 21, 2009, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was involved in an incident where…
On March 5, 2007, Metta Sandiford-Artest, who's formerly known as Ron Artest, was arrested on…
On February 17, 2022, WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Moscow because Russian customs…
In November 2005, NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin was cited for possession of drug…
The third overall pick in the draft has had an eventful year off the field.…