DENVER – James Harden had spent much of the night looking over the Nuggets' defense, sitting back like a distance runner plotting a finishing kick, waiting for the time to take off.
The Nuggets had made their move, reducing a 10-point lead to four. The time had come.
Harden had begun to roll in the third quarter, largely with a sensational stretch of passing. He had made just one field goal in the first half, but increasingly seemed in command.
When the game was tight, he took it over, driving the Rockets through a 13-2 fourth-quarter run in which he scored or set up every point, and past the Nuggets, xxx-xx.