Cavs’ James Harden on broken thumb: ‘If I can dribble, I can play’

James Harden never seriously considered surgery.

The Cavaliers star guard fractured his right thumb against the Knicks last week but returned Sunday to score 22 points with eight assists and nine rebounds in the road win over the Nets.

“That’s too much time out,” Harden said of surgery, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Thought about playing last game. Thought about playing in Milwaukee. There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through. Got no other choice.”

Harden tested the thumb Saturday in a private workout, Fedor noted.

“If I can dribble, I can play,” he said. “I still couldn’t dribble how I wanted to, but it was good enough.”

Coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged the impact.

“Just fumbling the ball,” Atkinson said. “Couple of those (five) turnovers weren’t his. Then I noticed him kind of deferring a couple times when bringing the ball up. Which he never does. It’s a tough one. But we needed him. He played handicapped. But he still played well.”