It would seem obvious, you’d think. Don’t allow the second-leading scorer in the NBA to shoot 14 uncontested shots and you’ll probably be in a position to win the game.
That’s how many open shots James Harden had in Game 3, and he knocked down 12 of them en route to 42 points on 15-of-24 shooting. The result forced Rick Carlisle to make a significant adjustment: He put Al-Farouq Aminu into the starting lineup and put him on Harden, shifting Dirk Nowitzki back on to Terrence Jones/Josh Smith, which essentially reset the Mavericks defense to the way it operated with Rajon Rondo in Games 1 and 2.