James Harden, Ausar Thompson clash right away in Cavs-Pistons Game 2

Things are getting hot between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. In Game 2 on Thursday, the Pistons came out looking to take a 2-0 series lead, but the Cavaliers aren’t backing down.

James Harden and Ausar Thompson set the tone as they got into it, not even five minutes in Game 2. With the Pistons up 12-5 at the 9:06 mark of the first quarter, Thompson bumped into Harden, to which Harden slightly pushed Thompson, and they briefly got into each other’s faces.

Things are getting chippy between James Harden and Ausar Thompson pic.twitter.com/hLjfjdDPoe

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Harden has played a pivotal role as an effective playmaker in this postseason. His joining forces with Donovan Mitchell creates a real offensive tag team that is still developing. At the same time, Harden has had issues with turning the ball over, including seven in Game 1. Meanwhile, Thompson has taken the mantle of being one of the Pistons’ top defenders. He’s shown some production guarding the likes of Harden and Mitchell.

In Game 1, Thompson contained Harden at the 3-point line, as he only shot 1-for-7. Safe to say that Thompson has been a thorn in Harden’s side. In many ways, the series will come down to which team has the stronger defense.

The Pistons came into the series after engineering a 3-1 comeback over the Orlando Magic in the first round. Conversely, the Cavaliars won a back-to-back seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors.

Harden and the Cavs are looking to win their first NBA championship since 2016, whereas Thompson and the Pistons are looking for their first since 2004.

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