Array
James Harden scored his 25,000th career point while racking up a season-high 28 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and eight rebounds in the Los Angeles Clippers’ sixth straight victory, 121-113 over the slumping Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.
Norman Powell scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers, who overcame Paul George’s first injury absence of the season for their 11th win in 14 games. Los Angeles adroitly held off the Warriors’ late surge and improved to 5-0 at home in December.
“That’s what James does,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “PG was out tonight, so (Harden) raised his level of play. Having the ball more, he had to create more and make more plays for himself and his teammates. That’s what we brought him here for, and it was a huge game from him.”
Harden became the 24th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points on a driving layup late in the third. The veteran has fit in quickly with the Clippers, shooting a strong percentage while adjusting his overall game to fit alongside Leonard and George, who sat out with a left hip injury.
“Doesn’t matter if I got two points or (28) tonight, winning is the key,” Harden said. “The stats and everything — I’ve done a lot of different things, accomplished a lot of different individual stats. For me, it’s about winning, about building chemistry, about continuing to get better, and I think tonight was another step forward for us as a unit.
