The chess or checkers game against James Harden

5:54 PM ET

HOUSTON – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a joke Saturday afternoon about playing chess and moving your pawn two spaces and how assistant coach Luke Walton doesn’t know chess and instead plays checkers.

It’s these pieces Kerr and his counterpart with the Houston Rockets, J.B. Bickerstaff, move in regards to James Harden.

The Rockets’ leading scorer has found his kryptonite of sorts against the Warriors in this best-of-seven series. Golden State sends multiple defenders at Harden, forcing him to pass more and limit the amount of open looks he receives.

James Harden was able to get more uncontested looks in Game 3 and it paid off with a series-high 35 points. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

In pick-and-roll plays, Harden is normally the ball-handler and the Warriors swarm him, forcing mistakes. In the first two games of the series, Harden scored just nine points on uncontested shots.

Everything changed in Game 3 when he played off the ball more and moved around the court, allowing him to make 6 of 14 uncontested shots. He led the Rockets to a victory with a series-high 35 points, which included the game-winning shot, which ironically enough was slightly contested by Andrew Iguodala.

“It allows other guys to make plays and get their confidence …

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