James Harden vows Cavs 'will respond.' They need him to answer. Opinion

TORONTO — James Harden is still relatively new to the Cavaliers, so he doesn’t know most of his teammates extremely well, yet after being blown out 126-104 by the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 on April 23, the veteran point guard vowed, “We will respond.”

The Cavs need Harden to bounce back from a clunker, or their ability to respond well will be severely hindered.

A team in NBA Finals-or-bust mode isn’t going to meet internal or external expectations unless its lackadaisical collapse at Scotiabank Arena proves to be an outlier and the 11-time All-Star it acquired in exchange for Darius Garland just before the February trade deadline delivers competent performances.

Cavs playoffs: Cavaliers score, recap vs Raptors in Game 3

1 / 3

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs Game 2 photos

CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 20: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers passes around Sandro Mamukelashvili #54 and Scottie Barnes #4 of the Toronto Raptors during the second quarter of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena on April 20, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

1 / 3

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs Game 2 photos

2 / 3

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs Game 2 photos

CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 20: Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dunks over Sandro Mamukelashvili #54 of the Toronto Raptors during the second quarter of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena on April 20, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

3 / 3

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs Game 2 photos

CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 20: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over RJ Barrett #9 of the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter of Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena on April 20, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Harden is certainly not the only member of the Cavs who fell flat in the first game of the best-of-seven series held in Toronto. But Harden held the dubious distinction of leading the fourth-seeded Cavs with a season-high eight turnovers. Cleveland lost the turnover battle 22-12 and was outscored 23-8 by Toronto in points off turnovers. The fifth-seeded Raptors cut their first-round series deficit to 2-1.

Harden led the Cavs with 18 points on an inefficient 5-of-13 shooting from the field (3 of 10 on 3-pointers). He had four rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes.

Cavs news: Cavaliers vs. Raptors Game 3 recap, instant reactions

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) defends during Game 3 of an NBA playoff first-round series April 23, 2026, in Toronto, Ontario.

All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored just 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field (1 of 7 on 3s). He tallied five rebounds, three assists and three turnovers in 33 minutes.

After flourishing in Game 1 and 2 in Cleveland, Harden and Mitchell looked like shells of themselves in Canada.

Meanwhile, Raptors stars Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett scored 33 points apiece, and even a couple of Toronto role players came off the bench to outshine Harden and Mitchell. Rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles had 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. Forward Jamison Battle scored 14 points — all in the fourth quarter — on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor (4 of 4 on 3s).

A second-year NBA player out of Ohio State, Battle had not scored a single point in the playoffs until his fourth-quarter eruption in Game 3. In Game 1, he took one shot and missed. In Game 2, he didn’t play. In Game 3, he torched the Cavs.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) loses the ball while colliding with Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) during Game 3 of an NBA playoffs first-round series April 23, 2026, in Toronto, Ontario.

The score was tied 54-54 at halftime, and the Cavs trailed 83-81 entering the fourth quarter.

Harden cut Cleveland’s deficit to 103-97 when he made a 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining, but the Raptors proceeded to go on a 21-2 run. Two of Harden’s eight turnovers occurred during the Cavs’ burial.

“I’ve gotta be better,” Harden said. “I think all of us just turning the basketball over, giving them just easy points off transition opportunities. First two games, we did a good job. Give them credit. They had a different game plan, and they caused turnovers.

“They top-locked. So they got on top [of screens], top-locked, basically not let us try to get to the ball, which, you know, I’ve seen before. So I’ll make an adjustment and be ready.”

The Cavs laid an egg, but it would be unreasonable to overreact to one game. It would be premature to hit the panic button and cite the postseason shortcomings of Harden and Mitchell.

Toronto Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles (12) reacts after a collision with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) left Mitchell on the floor during Game 3 of an NBA playoffs first-round series April 23, 2026, in Toronto, Ontario.

At the same time, there are natural questions about how this iteration of the Cavs led by Harden and Mitchell will handle adversity, especially in a hostile environment.

The Cavs flunked their first playoff road test of 2026.

Will they respond in ideal fashion?

“We will. We got no other choice,” Harden said.

There will be plenty to learn about the James Harden-era Cavs during Game 4 on Sunday, April 26, in Toronto.

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs need James Harden to bounce back from Game 3 clunker vs Raptors

James Harden vows Cavs ‘will respond.’ They need him to answer. Opinion

Tags: