The Cleveland Cavaliers really needed a win on Wednesday night, and they got a big one. Not only did they pick up a victory, but it was against the reigning champion New York Knicks.
Their 115-107 success doesn’t silence all concerns about the team, but it does go a long way to easing the worries of fans. Following the game, James Harden talked about his slow start to the year.
He admitted that he hasn’t been a scoring machine, but explained why it’s taking him some time to “figure it out.”
“I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s my 18th year, so… my name is James Harden. I used to score a lot of points. Now, it’s like, ‘Alright, cool.’ Still score points, but it’s finding other ways to impact the game as well. I think that’s what people probably don’t understand. Donovan averages a lot of points. He’s a scoring machine on this team, so just picking and choosing when I have opportunities to be aggressive and score, and then do other things that impact wins. Getting off to a slow start, but I’ll find out my rhythm. One thing I’m gonna do is work extremely hard to put the work in, so eventually things will turn around,” Harden said, via Darko Dzeletovic.
James Harden went from a very slow start in this season to dropping 32 pts in the #Cavs win over the #Knicks
“I’m still trying to figure it out.
It’s my 18th year, so…
My name is James Harden.
I used to score a lot of points…” pic.twitter.com/Xb856P8ZhD
— Darko Dželetović (@DarkoBasketball) November 12, 2026
On Wednesday, Harden was the sort of player and leader the Cavs need. He put up 32 points, which is far superior to the numbers he’d been producing before that. He was struggling to reach double digits on some nights, so 32 is a great and positive change.
Throughout the young season, many Cavs fans have been disappointed by Harden and how poorly he has performed. They know that he has innate basketball talent, but he wasn’t showing much of it on the floor.
Some people were even complaining about how much money the team is putting into his contract, stating that he wasn’t worth the cash he’s receiving. The Cavaliers are financially committed to Harden, so they need to see him step up. Sure enough, that’s exactly what he did on Wednesday.
Beating the Knicks is a big deal, especially after such painful losses earlier in the week. Harden was honest and humble about the win and made it sound as if he will continue to get better as the season goes on.
Fans certainly hope so, because 2026-27 has been a slow start for him.
NEXT: 2 Cavs Players Who Need To Step Up
