NBA Playoffs 2021: Brooklyn Nets star James Harden ruled out for Game 2 vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Scott Rafferty

NBA Playoffs 2021: Brooklyn Nets star James Harden ruled out for Game 2 vs. Milwaukee Bucks image

The Brooklyn Nets will have to get it done without James Harden again.

On Sunday, the Nets announced that the three-time scoring champion will miss Game 2 of their first-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks due to right hamstring tightness.

MORE: Nets are unguardable even without Harden

Harden suffered the injury 43 seconds into Game 1. He immediately left the game and did not return.

"I'm heartbroken for him," Nets head coach Steve Nash said of Harden after the game. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if he's playing the next game, if he's out. I have no idea. But I'm heartbroken for him that he had to miss tonight."

It's an injury Harden has been dealing with this season.

Following a win over the Houston Rockets on March 31, Harden missed two straight games due to hamstring tightness. He returned against the New York Knicks on April 5, but he left the game after four minutes of play with right hamstring tightness. He then missed 18 straight games before appearing in two of Brooklyn's last three games of the season.

Harden averaged 24.6 points, 10.9 assists and 8.5 rebounds in 36 regular season games with the Nets. He then averaged 27.8 points, 10.6 assists and 7.2 rebounds in Brooklyn's five-game series win over the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

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Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.