In Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Houston Rockets benefitted greatly from MVP candidate James Harden’s performance.

In a 104-101 victory, he went 15-for-26 from the floor, including 7-of-12 from three-point range, en route to a 44-point night. As he’s done all year, he led the team down the stretch and proved to be an unstoppable offensive force, seemingly scoring at will.

Game 2 was a completely different story for Harden individually, but the result was the same.

Harden has his worst offensive performance in recent memory. Going just 2-for-18 from the field, including 1-of-10 from three, the superstar scored just 12 points. But, oddly enough, Houston blew out Minnesota by the score of 102-82.

The sting of such an abysmal shooting night will not linger with him. In fact, he's overjoyed at the moment.

"I'm more happy than anybody right now, believe it or not, just because I'm not really worried about my shot," said Harden, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. "I had those same shots in Game 1, and they went in. In Game 3, I'll shoot those same shots. … But I'm fortunate to have guys like Gerald [Green] and just the entire team to have my back on both ends of the floor. I just tried to make an impact on the game in other ways, not just offensively. Happy we got the win.”

In Game 3, Harden won’t be afraid to chuck the ball up, as he has done all season long.

"I don't have to worry about me shooting the basketball," said Harden. ”When we've got guys behind me telling me, 'Keep shooting, that's your shot,' I'm going to keep shooting. On the defensive end, I've just got to make sure I'm locked in, creating energy, make sure my rotations are really good and keep communicating. ... I didn't even know what I was shooting, but I knew I wasn't making a lot of shots. Or any. But we were up 15 or 17 points. That made me feel really good.

Judging by the fact that Harden led the NBA in scoring this season, chances are that he’ll bounce back strong in Game 3. Since the Timberwolves failed to take advantage of his terrible shooting night in Game 2, they're in major trouble at the moment.

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