In his first night wearing a Cavs jersey, James Harden showed why Cleveland brought him in, coming up big in the fourth quarter of a 132-126 win Saturday night over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. It wasn’t always clean early on, but Harden and Donovan Mitchell’s late-game production decided the outcome.
The Cavaliers entered the game integrating Harden on short notice after acquiring him from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. Harden had not practiced with the team before the matchup. Cleveland’s starters looked out of sync defensively, particularly on the glass and in containment, allowing Sacramento to jump out to a 31–25 lead after the first quarter. Offensively, Mitchell and Harden appeared hesitant to assert control, contributing to stagnant possessions.
The Cavs stabilized in the second quarter behind their bench and took a 57–55 lead into halftime after outscoring the Kings 32–24 in the period. However, those early problems resurfaced for the Cavaliers in the third. Sacramento reclaimed momentum and built a double-digit advantage midway through the frame before Cleveland responded with an 11–0 run. Still, the Cavaliers trailed 96–93 entering the fourth.
Mitchell grabbed the reins in the fourth quarter, scoring Cleveland's first 11 points of the quarter and finishing with 35 points overall. He added 17 points in the fourth and converted two crucial free throws after DeMar DeRozan tied the game with a three-pointer with just over 42 seconds remaining.
Harden made an impact immediately after checking back in midway through the fourth. He knocked down a transition three to give the Cavs a brief lead, then later finished an 8–0 Cavaliers run with another wide-open triple as the Kings momentarily surged ahead by seven. Harden scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and made every shot he attempted in the period, including three three-pointers and four free throws.
For the game, Harden finished with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, along with eight assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 32 minutes. Mitchell and Harden combined for 32 of Cleveland's 39 fourth-quarter points, marking the first time since play-by-play tracking began in 1996–97 that two Cavaliers teammates each scored at least 15 points in a fourth quarter.
Jarrett Allen recorded 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds. Nique Clifford led Sacramento with 30 points, while Russell Westbrook added 21 points and nine assists. The loss was the Kings' 12th straight and sixth consecutive defeat at home.
Meanwhile, the win was Cleveland's third in a row and eighth in its last nine games, improving to 32-21 overall and 3–1 on its Western Conference road trip. The Cavs will close the trip Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.
