Houston Rockets star guard James Harden will face his former Oklahoma City Thunder team tonight for the first time since his trade, but insist that to him it's just another game.
"I'm on the road trying to get a win," Harden said Tuesday. "That's no different than when we played at Memphis or Atlanta or whatever the case may be."
Harden was dealt to the Rockets at the beginning of the season after he could not come to an agreement on a contract extension with the Thunder. The trade came as a surprise not only to fans but to Harden as well, who went to the NBA Finals last season with the team and went to the Olympic Gold medal round with Team USA with teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
"To be honest, I don't even know," he said. "It will be good to see some faces, some old teammates and coaches. They're all my family. I look forward to every single game I play. It's just another game."
Thunder coach Scott Brooks also disputed the idea that players don't hold grudges over former teams that traded them, calling on his experience of getting dealt to Dallas by the Rockets for Morlon Wiley in 1995.
"It's not another game," Brooks told media in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. "It took me five years to get over Rudy Tomjanovich. Now we're best buddies. But yeah, it's still personal."
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