On some nights in the NBA, the strength of many can be enough to silence the might of a superstar. James Harden entered Wednesday game as a top-tier MVP candidate, leading the league’s fourth-best offense into a match-up with Toronto’s backpedaling defense. With the Raptors still in the midst of a grueling stretch of schedule, there existed a real possibility for a Harden-led, panic-stirring blowout.
Instead of falling victim to Houston’s one-man show, the Raptors turned in a collective effort that is now the leader in the clubhouse as the team’s best performance of the season.