James Harden looked like his old self on Wednesday night.The Beard — who has garnered a bad reputation for his playoff struggles over the years — put up 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and made some clutch shots down the stretch, to lead the Cavaliers to a 117-113 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup.Harden scored and facilitated as the Cavs claimed a crucial Game 5 victory against DetroitGettyHarden was instrumental in the win, shooting 8-for-21 from the floor and 11-for-14 from the foul line to give the Cavs a commanding 3-2 series lead.It was also the Cavaliers’ first road win of this postseason after they trailed 103-94 before finishing the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to force overtime.Harden, the 2018 MVP, has had his fair share of detractors over the years after coming up short in the postseason. However, he controlled the game with his scoring and play-making in Game 5, showing exactly why the Cavs made the decision to acquire him at the trade deadline.“This is new for me,” Harden said after the game. “I’ve only been here 2½ months, you know what I mean? So, the things that we were going through is all new. Learning how to be a second option and feed and play off Donovan, when to be aggressive when he has it going. Last game, second half, he did some things that we haven’t seen in a very, very long time. And he’s capable of doing that every single game.”James Harden joins LeBron, Michael Jordan and Kobe BryantHarden reached a number of impressive milestones with his performance.According to ESPN Insights, Harden is the first Cavs player with 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 3+ blocks in a playoff game since LeBron James did it in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals vs the Golden State Warriors.He joins Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA history with 30/5/5/3 in a playoff game after turning 36.On a night when Harden moved past Celtics legend Robert Parish into 15th on the all-time playoff games played list (185), he also joined a rare-four man club.Harden joined LeBron, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history with 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in the postseason.Harden and Mitchell are one of the league’s most dynamic backcourtsGettyESPN’s Lisa Salters reminded Harden he needs to improve his free throwsGettyView Tweet: https://t.co/gsuXTcxKUyDonovan Mitchell, Lisa Salters troll Harden over free throwsHowever, it wasn’t the complete performance from Harden, as teammate Donovan Mitchell reminded him after the game.Cameras caught jokingly Mitchell cussing Harden out for missing a free throw at the end of the game.“Donovan said I should ask you about the missed free throw”, Harden told ESPN reporter Lisa Salters after the game, who jokingly responded that he needed to work on them.“So, finding when to be aggressive, wanting to be a playmaker and things like that,” Harden said of his performance after the game.“And then offensively finding what works for us. For me, to be successful, to get guys shots and open looks. I think we’re building in the right direction. And throughout that process, there’s going to be sometimes where we don’t look as great, but I think overall we all have the right mindset of wanting to help each other do better.”Harden will now look to lead Cleveland to their first Eastern Conference finals since LeBron did so in 2018 when the Cavs face Detroit in a closeout Game 6 on Friday.Should they win, they will face the New York Knicks with a place in the 2026 NBA Finals on the line.