Through three quarters on Tuesday, Rockets guard James Harden had made 6 of 23 shots, just 1 of 7 from beyond the 3-point line. As often as he has turned around slow starts, rarely has the change been more dramatic.
When Harden checked back in with eight minutes left, he made consecutive step-back 3s on his way to sinking 6 of 7 fourth-quarter shots for 19 points, more than he had scored in his first 28 minutes on the floor combined.
As much as one might think a player on his sort of offensive roll would not be affected by an off night, that turnaround was considered indicative of how he had become such a consistently high scorer.