NEW YORK – Brooklyn Nets star James Harden played just four minutes before being ruled out for the rest of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks, due to a strain on the suffrage tendon right.
Harden’s brief return came after he missed the Nets ’last two games to grapple with the same injury.
Before the game, Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said Harden would not have a minute restriction.
“We definitely don’t want to wear out,” Nash argued before the start. “So we will do our best, which is sometimes very difficult. We will try to limit your minutes if we get the chance.”
Nash reiterated that images taken in the tendon of Harden’s suffrage revealed no structural damage, so the team looked to him and his training staff to decide when he felt good enough to play.
“I think he’s in a position where he was tired,” Nash stressed.
The Nets were already without Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Tyler Johnson and Landry Shamet.
Harden, one of the favorites for the ‘MVP’ of the league, averaging 26.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 11.2 assists per confrontation.