[Lowlight] Paolo commits the foul on James Harden at the literal last second of the half, leading to a 4-point play as James sinks the 3 and free throw.
Christ the shot making from this guy is insane
I still can’t believe he’s playing in a Cavs jersey
Top 10 all time scoring right
Absolute bucket getter
They changed the step back rules just for him
What were they before?
It was considered a travel before.
Shooting 45% from three as a Cav in 17 games lol.
Meanwhile Garland is at 50.7% from three as a Clipper. Definitely a win-win trade
This is a highlight for Harden. The Beard’s still got it.
Thanks, Magic
I think he’s saying that because the wording in the title seems to emphasize Paolo’s defensive mishap rather than Harden’s shot-making.
Edit: It’s also prefaced as a lowlight, which I missed until this hit my mentions again.
You got it. The shot is more memorable than the foul.
Might be the first time I’ve seen a full on belly bump to foul a jump shooter.
Harden’s fatsuit strikes again
Definitely had a pregame meal.
Is there a reason this wasn’t a flagrant 1? I’m so confused about that rule…
At this point I’m convinced it’s a vibes thing
To be honest, thats how i feel about 100% of fouls on both NBA and NFL. Who needs rules when you can whistle/flag on vibes?
Rule book is just a suggestion
if the player stays down and act like they are in pain then it gets reviewed.
That rule is to protect the landing space and specifically feet landing space. Pablo allowed harden to land but then made contact with the body. So it is just a normal foul
To Paolo’s credit it looks like he specifically tries to spread his legs to avoid having his feet be in Harden’s landing space. Don’t know if that was intentional or not. Surprised they didn’t at least review it though.
I’m watching the NBC broadcast and was completely confused whey they didn’t even try to explain why this wasn’t a reckless closeout. So much worse than some of the things I’ve seen giving a flagrant this year.
Queen just got called for a flagrant for a much less egregious play lmao. I suppose there’s arm contact here while Queen’s play on Hart was just his foot straying into Hart’s landing area, but this is sometimes weirdly inconsistent.
harden’s feet land about a foot in front of where he shot from, and he was falling down as he does on just about every three point attempt he takes anyways
I’m guessing they’re saying Banchero gave Harden the chance to land, but then bumped into him.
It’s 2026 and people still falling for that Harden stepback. Few seconds left and there is only 1 thing he will do. Just let it go, just contest and pray he will miss. Nothing you can do about it.
He goes to his midrange a decent amount of times in end of clock situations. He reads the defence so well and mixes it up just enough to keep defenders guessing
He and Luka basically do the same thing. It’s amazing how they basically do the same move but it’s so hard to defend even if the defender already know the move.
That deceleration is no joke; both of them are top percentile there allowing them to shift direction in an instant.
Highlight starts with a crazy left hand carry.
For sure everyone in that building knew that shit was going to go in the moment Harden has the ball and it was seconds to play
Based.
Thought this was an all star game at first wtf
James get fucking fouled so many times on 3’s and doesn’t get calls and also where there should be flagrants for reckless close outs.
Some bs
Happens to Curry a lot too
doesn’t get calls
Retroactive punishment for 2016-2020
Just wanna say the color palette in this game is 🤌🤌🤌 chef’s kiss
I like how the video starts with just the most obvious carry
For real. I dont even know why they dribble at this point.
Why is this a lowlight for Paolo, just make it a highlight for Harden. A ton of highlights are only possible via mistakes by opposing players. Is every four point play a lowlight?
unc still got it
No defense in sight
Not many people in the world can guard James Harden though
Why don’t teams just simply clone Jrue Holiday
Massive carry to start that sequence though. Hard to complain about defense when refs make it so much harder to play.
The Paolo special
Like I don’t get how a guy that big and athletic is so bad at that side of the ball
Top 1% commenter on r/NBA and I’m supposed to believe you have time to watch the Magic?
You’d think he wasn’t the best player on the court (which he has been btw) by this guys comments
He’s been good recently
Puts up fine numbers, team still loses his minutes consistently lol
What happened to him
Nothing lmao, Paolo was extremely close to him but I truly believe he never made contact because Harden fell before Paolo made contact. The refs blew the whistle predictably not for actual contact.
Blatant carry before getting into the size up.
Wow Paolo’s defensive reactions there seemed.. not good
Coach Mosley was probably already writing his halftime speech in his head, only to watch his franchise player do this with 1 second left. Pain.
That carry at the beginning 😒
That can be a flagrant 1. That’s a dangerous closeout from Paolo.
He never made contact. Harden’s feet both land close together inside Paolos feet where you can see him spread his feet before landing. Harden fell before contact was made. He was going to be fouled I just don’t believe he actually made contact because harden fell early.
He didn’t foul him though.
cant believe he turns into ben simmons in the playoffs
paolo sucks
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