Harden comfortable in role and with All-Star choice as Clippers rout Wizards
The Bearded One dropped 25 in the win.
Paul George has been dealing with a sore left groin over the last couple of weeks, and despite having played through it for the past few games, George was unable to give it a go on Wednesday night in the nation’s capital.
That meant more time for James Harden and Kawhi Leonard to showcase their world-class skills.
Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points in 30 minutes, and for the third time in the last four games, the superstar forward was able to take the entire fourth quarter off as the Clippers rolled to a 125-109 victory.
Behind a 40-19 third-quarter spurt, the Clippers (31-15) put distance between themselves and the Washington Wizards, turning a six-point halftime lead into a romp just a few short miles from Capitol Hill.
Leonard also added nine rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a block during his time. The Clippers outscored Washington by 23 with Leonard on the floor.
For his part, Harden finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals in 33 minutes, further solidifying himself as arguably the best in-season trade in Clippers history.
“When [George] or Kawhi is out, when one of those guys is out, [Harden] always steps his scoring up, looking to be more aggressive offensively,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters following the win.
“We needed that. Just finding his way, just trying to make sure he’s disturbing the basketball, making the right play, but also being aggressive scoring the basketball which we need, and he did a great job of that tonight.”
It marked Harden’s 15th game with at least 20 points since his trade to the Clippers.
“When the scoring is needed, I’m gonna score the basketball,” Harden emphasized postgame. “I’m very comfortable in that role.”
Harden scored 20 of his 25 in the first three quarters, knocking home four 3s during that time and five overall for the game.
“[George] is out tonight, we needed some scoring, so I’ll score the basketball,” explained Harden.
Harden, like both Leonard and George, is up for consideration for one of the Western Conference All-Star reserve spots that will be announced on Thursday. Last season, Harden missed out on an All-Star selection despite leading the league in assists. This year, while his assists are down, Harden’s impact could be considered to be at a higher level. But it’s also not something Harden is stressing over.
“If it happens, it happens,” the 10-time All-Star said. “If it don’t, it doesn’t. It doesn’t change or affect me.”
Amir Coffey started in place of Paul George, scoring 17 points in 21 minutes and knocking down five of his seven shots, including both of his 3-point attempts and all five of his free throws. Coffey shot 65.1 percent from the field and made 14 of his 27 long-range attempts in January.
Forward Brandon Boston Jr. played 27 minutes as he entered the rotation due to George’s injury. Boston, who was given the news earlier in the day that he’d be getting significant minutes, Boston finished with 12 points.
“Once we knew [George] was gonna be out tonight, just talking to [Boston] before shootaround and just letting him know he’s gonna get some minutes and he’s gonna be in the rotation,” Lue said after the game. “He came over early, played in the ‘Stay Ready’ game, kinda found his rhythm, and then came out tonight and I thought he played really well. I thought he did some good things defensively, and then offensively we know he can score the basketball. All-around tonight, I thought he did a good job.”
Terance Mann scored six points and Mason Plumlee added five points and 11 rebounds as he started his seventh consecutive game for the injured Ivica Zubac.
It was learned on Wednesday that Zubac traveled to meet the team in Washington, D.C., and it does appear that Zubac could potentially be ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Russell Westbrook had nine points and seven assists off the bench while Norman Powell chipped in with 14 and Daniel Theis had four. Kobe Brown and Bones Hyland saw action late as the Clippers had their 29-point lead trimmed to its final margin in the process.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards in scoring, pouring home 27. Meanwhile, rookie Bilal Coulibaly started for Jordan Poole, who was a late scratch due to a non-COVID illness. Coulibaly finished with 19 points. Corey Kispert had 16 off the bench for Washington and Deni Avdija finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
The Wizards are now 9-38, the second-worst mark in the league ahead of only the Detroit Pistons (6-41). The Clippers will be in Detroit on Friday.
With George’s groin issue still lingering, and with the Clippers playing a bit of a lighter schedule at this moment, it might be prudent to let the swingman get some more time off.
The final three games on the trip are Detroit, Miami, and then the second night of a back-to-back in Atlanta. There’s probably no reason to play George in Detroit, and the case could be made that he should, at most, only play one of the final two games.
Either way, the Clippers enjoyed a nice easy day and nabbed another decent win while missing two of their five main starters. You’ll take that no matter the competition.
But it is about building reps, and it’s something Harden believes is coming along.
“I think our chemistry on the court is, like, getting close to where we need it to be,” Harden said after the game.
“Communication on the court, knowing what we’re doing [on] both ends of the ball. Not even just — it’s from everybody as well, not just me, which is a phenomenal thing to see. We got seven more games left before the break and then these last 30 [games] or whatever it is, let’s put it to the test. Those are going to be stepping moments for us going into the postseason.”