Houston Rockets guard James Harden likened the officiating in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals to the injury Kawhi Leonard suffered playing the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 playoffs.
“I just want a fair chance,” he said to the press in reference to his potential game-tying three that he missed in the closing seconds of Sunday’s game. “We all know what happened a couple years back with Kawhi. Call the game the way it’s supposed to be called, and we’ll live with the results.”
The injury Harden is referring to is when, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs, then-Warriors member Zaza Pachulia undercut Leonard on a three-point attempt and he didn’t have enough space to land.
Leonard was a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2017 and suffered an injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals when Zaza Pachulia — then with Golden State — undercut him on a three-point attempt and didn’t give him enough space to land. Leonard said he didn’t find the play dirty but many around the league did.
