James Harden

G, Houston Rockets

James Harden missed all 11 of his attempts from downtown on Thursday and finished 5-of-21 from the field, totaling 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals and six turnovers in a Game 5 win.

Harden saved his line with a 9-of-9 night at the charity stripe but wasn't on his game in this one. Luckily for him the Rockets brought the goods on defense, as Houston was able to scrape by despite a poor showing from the league's likely MVP. The Beard has gone cold from behind the arc this series but the Rockets are on the verge of advancing anyway. If they can continue to play at this level on defense and force Golden State away from their game, they should be able to avoid two consecutive losses and punch their ticket to the Finals. That's a tall ask, but Houston has simply been the better team in this series so far.