After a heroic Game 4 performance that saw him drop a playoff career-high 45 points in a season-saving win, it seemed as though Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden had shaken free of The BasedGod's Curse.
But with Lil B himself in attendance for Game 5 on Wednesday night, Harden appeared to be sucked back down the curse's sinkhole. The Bay Area rapper was on hand not just to support the Golden State Warriors, but seemingly to bring further shame to the man who allegedly stole Lil B's chef-like hand gesture.
As the Rockets saw the game - and their season - slowly slipping away in the fourth quarter, Harden coughed up the basketball for the 12th time of the night.
That gave him a dubious distinction: Harden is now the NBA record-holder for most turnovers in a single postseason game. And he'd add a 13th to make it a baker's - or chef's - dozen.
I'm sorry James harden all you had to do was explain you were doing the Lil B cooking dance - Lil B
— Lil B From The Pack (@LILBTHEBASEDGOD) May 28, 2015
John Williamson will surely thank Harden and The BasedGod for removing him from the history books, as the former New Jersey Net recorded 11 miscues in a playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers back in 1979. Since 1985, double-digit turnovers had been recorded on seven playoff occasions but nobody had matched Williamson's error rate until Wednesday.
Harden is hardly new to this ignominious level - he turned the ball over 10 times in a playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2013, the last time anyone had punted the ball 10 or more times in a playoff outing.
The Rockets ultimately dropped Game 5 to bring their season to a close. Harden finished with 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and 13 turnovers.
"Tried to do a little bit too much and turned the ball over and gave them easy baskets in transition," Harden said after the game. "This isn't where we wanted to end at. It's a really good season for us. Next year we want to be better, and we will."
