James Harden reports immediately for Cleveland against the Kings

The first night he wore a Cavs jersey, James Harden showed why Cleveland brought him in, and in the fourth quarter a 132-126 victory Saturday night over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center. It wasn’t always clear-cut early on, but late-game production from Harden and Donovan Mitchell decided the outcome.

The Cavaliers entered the game by integrating Harden in the short term after acquiring him from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. Harden did not practice with the team before the game. Cleveland’s starters looked out of sync defensively, especially on the glass and in possession, allowing Sacramento to jump out to a 31–25 lead after the first quarter. Offensively, Mitchell and Harden were hesitant to establish control, contributing to stagnant possessions.

The Cavs steadied themselves in the second quarter behind their bench and took a 57–55 halftime lead after outscoring the Kings 32–24 in the period. However, those early problems resurfaced for the Cavaliers in the third. Sacramento regained momentum and built a double-digit lead midway through the frame before Cleveland responded with an 11–0 run. However, the Cavaliers trailed 96–93 entering the fourth.

Mitchell took 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 made two key free throws after DeMar DeRozan tied the game with a 3-pointer with just over 42 seconds left.

Harden made an immediate impact after returning midway through the fourth. He knocked down a transition 3-pointer to give the Cavs a brief lead, then capped an 8-0 Cavaliers run later with another 3-pointer as the Kings momentarily jumped 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 3-pointers and four free throws.

Harden finished the game with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, with eight assists, two rebounds and one steal in 32 minutes. Mitchell and Harden combined for 32 of Cleveland’s 39 points in the fourth quarter, the first since play-by-play coverage began in 1996–97. that two Cavaliers teammates scored at least 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Jarrett Allen scored 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds. Nick Clifford led Sacramento with 30 points, while Russell Westbrook added 21 points and nine assists. The loss was the Kings’ 12th in a row and sixth straight at home.

Meanwhile, the win was Cleveland’s third straight and eighth in its last nine games, improving to 32-21 overall and 3-1 on the road trip to the Western Conference. The Cavs will finish the road trip on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.