Klay Thompson's insight on reigning MVP will come in handy vs. Rockets

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OAKLAND – As the defender that has seen more of James Harden than anyone in the NBA, Klay Thompson may be the leading authority on how to avoid getting burned by Houston’s bearded star.

Lately, though, Harden has been torching every defense in his sight. He has averaged 40.8 points over his last 10 games while shooting 41.9 percent beyond the arc. He averaged 14.9 free throw attempts, with 27 against Memphis on Monday.

That’s the trap. So much of Harden’s scoring wizardry comes from free throws due to his knack for getting defenders to bite on head fakes, pump fakes and ball teases.

“He shows you the ball and, as a defender, that looks real good,” Thompson said Thursday morning, eight hours before the Warriors would face the Rockets at Oracle Arena. “And then he snatches it quickly away and you’re reaching for wrist instead of ball most of the time.

“So that’s a huge part of staying disciplined and not even attempting to go for steals but just try and make him score over you, because it looks like it’s right there for you. But then he moves it real quick and you’ll have all wrist before you know it.”

Thompson has been competing with Harden since the two were teenagers in Southern California. They competed in the Pac-12, with Thompson at Washington State and Arizona State and they’ve been going at it for seven years in the NBA.

So Thompson has seen the transformation of Harden from prep star to NBA MVP to someone who leads the world in drawing fouls.

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“I think it’s developed over the last five years or so,” Thompson said. “He’s just got an ability to draw fouls like no one I’ve ever seen before. That’s part of the game, so you’ve got to give him credit for it.”

By stressing the importance of not reaching, the Warriors in recent seasons have done a solid job of containing Harden. In their epic seven-game Western Conference Finals last May, he averaged 28.7 points but shot only 41.5 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from deep. Moreover, he averaged 7.4 free throw attempts per game.

“Playing a guy who has such high numbers, you’re settling for 25 to 30, if he scores that many, instead of 40,” Thompson said. “So you can’t get discouraged if he’s going to make shots. That’s what he’s been doing for his whole career.”

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When the Warriors and Rockets matched up Nov. 15 in Houston, scored 27 points on 8-of-23 shooting, including 4-of-14 from deep. He shot eight free throws. For his career, Harden is averaging 22.1 points per game against the Warriors.

The Warriors will live with those numbers every time and they’ll gladly take them Thursday night.

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