After coming up with a defensive stop against Kawhi Leonard at the end of the Houston Rockets' 121-119 win over the Toronto Raptors, PJ Tucker, Mike D'Antoni, and Austin Rivers complimented James Harden's defensive ability.

"He can play defense when he wants to. Everybody always talks [bad] on James about him playing defense, but he wants to win," said Tucker.

"James has actually been playing solid defense since I've been here, to be honest. That whole defensive liability thing for him is dead, from what I've seen," added Rivers. 

Harden is giving up just 0.74 points per post-up possession according to Second Spectrum data. It is the fourth fewest among NBA players who have defended at least 75 possessions.