Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden. Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Nets 'heartbroken' after James Harden suffers hamstring injury in Game 1 against Bucks

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 6/6/21

James Harden spent just 43 seconds on the court in the Brooklyn Nets 115-107 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 31-year-old suffered a hamstring injury after kicking the ball out to Joe Harris in the corner. Harden immediately clutched his right leg in discomfort and walked to the locker room.

James Harden is heading to the locker room with an apparent hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/r8hmUGHF05
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2021

Harden underwent an MRI and Brooklyn is still waiting for the results. Nets head coach Steve Nash said after the game that Harden's availability for Game 2 is uncertain.

"You know we got a lot thrown at us this year, so we were, in a sense, well trained for this event," Nash said, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "But you never want to see that for someone like James, who is such an important player and such an incredible player and cares so much.

"I'm heartbroken for him. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if he's playing the next game, if he's out. I have no idea. But I'm heartbroken for him that he had to miss tonight."

The three-time scoring champion had an issue with the same hamstring earlier in the season, and it caused him to miss over a month before returning for the final week of the regular season.

If Harden is sidelined for an extended period of time, Brooklyn's other players, besides Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, will need to step up as they did in Game 1.

Joe Harris finished the series opener with 19 points, two rebounds and two assists, while Blake Griffin notched 18 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. Mike James also contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Game 2 between the Nets and Bucks is scheduled for Monday night.

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