James Harden reportedly 'determined' to play in Game 5

The Brooklyn Nets will be without Kyrie Irving for Game 5 of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, but James Harden is doing everything he can to return.

Harden is listed as doubtful for Game 5, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that he is “determined” to play. The former NBA MVP is expected to test his injured hamstring during a shootaround on Tuesday to see if he will be able to suit up.

Harden left Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series with hamstring tightness. The injury is particularly concerning because it is the same hamstring that forced Harden to miss a month during the regular season. Brooklyn has been hopeful that he can return by the end of the series.

The Nets won the first two games of the series before losing both games in Milwaukee. That has created a sense of urgency, especially now that Irving could miss the remainder of the series. Irving suffered an ankle sprain in Game 4 on Sunday on a play that looked pretty bad.