James Harden still clearly wasn't himself in game six, but he looked a little closer to his superstar form.
Now, with game seven on deck Saturday night, the Nets can only hope Harden and his ailing hamstring can get a little closer to his typical self in time to help save Brooklyn's season.
Harden left the opening game of the series in the opening minute with hamstring tightness, and was listed as out for game five until the morning of, when he was upgraded to doubtful and eventually questionable. He gave it a go in game five and was clearly hampered by the injury, and as he told reporters after game six, his first game back was as much about getting used to moving again as it was getting back into the pace of a playoff game.
"It's not even about rust, it's about being able to move," Harden said. "I think day by day, I continue to get better. The last game, game five, was the last day I did any movement or anything like that since I got hurt. Tonight was no different."
Harden, who missed nearly a month of the season with a hamstring strain, has been so limited in his work in between games that his activity on the floor is some of the only movement he has nowadays, in an effort to preserve his health. He somehow managed 46 minutes in game five, though he struggled badly on the offensive end, shooting just 1-for-10 from the floor while missing all eight of his 3-point attempts, many of which missed short. He seemed to have a little more life from his legs in game six, finishing with 16 points and seven assists in 40 minutes of play, while shooting a much-improved 5-for-9 from the field.
Now, Harden hopes he can carry that momentum into Saturday night, when the Nets will need all the offense they can get as Kyrie Irving remains out and Joe Harris remains ice cold from beyond the arc.
"I'm out there to do whatever it takes to win," Harden said. "I have to be better on both sides of the ball, which I will be in game seven."
Even without Harden, Brooklyn looked like the far superior team through the first two games of the series. But momentum shifted when the series moved to Milwaukee, and after Irving went down with a sprained ankle. The Nets have had plenty of adversity come their way, but a hobbled Harden and company could still advance to the conference finals with one more win on their home floor.
They'll likely need a more recognizable version of Harden to finish the job.
"With everything we've dealt with and been through, we have the second seed for this particular reason," Harden said. "We just gotta got out there and hoop at home. One game."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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