James Harden Delivers Another Fourth Quarter Gem, Gives Cavs Reasons To Believe

It was a final game of a five game west coast road trip as the Cleveland Cavaliers (32-21) visited the Denver Nuggets (34-19). But with a narrow 119-117 victory, Cleveland wins their fourth game in a row and improve to 33-21 on the season, all thanks to the new starting guard duo.

Three different players finished with double-doubles as Donovan Mitchell led the way with 32 points, 10 assists, two steals, and two blocks. Jarrett Allen followed up with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and one assist. While James Harden finishes three assists shy of a triple-double finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks.

On the other end, Nikola Jokic collected his 19th triple-double of the season and third straight overall going for 22 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, and one block. While first year All-Star Jamal Murray finished with 17 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. Denver had two others finish with at least 20 points, and seven players total scoring in double digits.

Harden's herocis come up big again

Down by three with just 32 seconds left, Harden came through yet again with a clutch step back three, tying things up at 117 a piece. Cleveland got the two defensive stops they needed down the stretch, and Mitchell finished it off with a pair of game-winning free throws less than one second left.

The Cavaliers opened things up with a 6-0 run. But the Nuggets quickly responded with a 15-2 run of their own to take a 15-8 lead within the first five minutes. Mitchell went on a tear to end the quarter finishing with 13 points while shooting 6-for-9. It helped put the Cavs down just four as the home team still held a 30-26 lead.

A quick 7-0 Denver run in 91 seconds would give them a double digit lead at 37-26, forcing Kenny Atkinson to call a timeout. But leave it up to Cleveland to respond with a 10-0 run of their own making it a 37-36 game with 8:27 left in the second quarter. It would turn into a back and forth game to end the first half though, as the Nuggets walked away with a 59-54 lead.

Things would remain very even for the third quarter as both teams tied each other in scoring at 33 points each for the next twelve minutes. With Murray having a double-double through three, it was a 92-87 Denver lead.

It wouldn't take long for the Nuggets to go another run that featured a three from Jokic. With 10 minutes left to play, the Cavaliers had work to do trailing 103-92. Led by the passing of Harden and Michell, they powered the Cavs to trailing just 106-102 midway through the fourth.

Barely coming out with the 119-117 win, it was a fun and entertaining game as the Cavaliers next head back home to face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.