Mike D’Antoni jokes that James Harden will need to score 55 next game

James Harden had a pretty awesome scoring night for the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, but it wasn’t enough as Golden State won comfortably 119-106. The margin of defeat led Mike D’Antoni to crack a joke in his postgame.

“I’m just gonna go tell him that he needs to get 55 next time,” D’Antoni joked.

Mike D'Antoni on James Harden: "I'm just gonna go tell him that he needs to get 55 next time."

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 15, 2018

Harden scored 41 in the game, going 14 of 24 from the field and 8 of 10 at the line. He still was a -7 in the plus-minus category because the Warriors were so good.

If Harden needs to average 55 points a game for the Rockets to beat the Warriors in a series, they’re in a lot of trouble. They’re not going to win much if Luc Mbah a Moute and PJ Tucker (0-for-9) can’t make a shot.