RENO, Nev. — The Houston Rockets, who have seldom been accused of playing the most attractive brand of basketball this season, were running their usual one-on-one isolations against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, and Mariah Musselman, age 8, took it upon herself to count the number of times that James Harden dribbled during one possession.
“Eighteen, 19, 20…” she said as Harden’s teammates cleared the space around him and the shot clock ticked away.