Harden, Clippers wine, shine, and dine to win No. 29
The Clippers led by double-digits for the final 34 minutes.
James Harden arrived at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto holding a seethrough suitcase that housed his bright pink sneakers and a bottle of his signature 2020 California Red Wine from J-Harden Wines.
By night's end, Harden enjoyed the nice aftertaste of his 75th career triple-double as it paired nicely with the LA Clippers notching their 29th win of the season by defeating the Toronto Raptors, 127-107.
L.A. led by at least 10 points for the final 34 minutes of Friday’s game.
The win marked the Clippers’ 26th in their last 32 outings, moving them to 29-14 overall and an even 10-10 on the road. They kept pace with the Oklahoma City Thunder (32-13) who went on the road and knocked off the New Orleans Pelicans (26-19).
Harden paced the Clippers with 22 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds, moving to eighth on the all-time triple-double list as a result of his magnificence. Harden knocked in eight of his 14 field goal attempts and turned the ball over only once.
“It makes it a lot easier on Kawhi [Leonard] and [Paul George] not to have to handle and make every play for themselves or for our team,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters in Toronto following the win.
“Acquiring James, it just makes it so much easier for those guys. Easy catch-and-shoot 3s, not having to rely on having to make every play like they did in the past few years. James has just been great. He keeps everybody happy. Gets a couple guys dunks, [gets] a couple guys 3s. Just playing the right way and making the right play in pick-and-roll. It takes a lot of grind off of PG and Kawhi acquiring James, so it was huge for us.”
The Clippers outscored Toronto by 27 points in Harden’s 35 minutes.
Neither Harden nor the Clippers looked particularly out of control on the night, using a surgical approach to dissect an undersized Toronto squad that had no answer for the Clippers’ offensive firepower.
The theme of the night for the Clippers was measured control and rest. To that point, Paul George logged 28 minutes as he finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists while going 7-for-13 from the field. Kawhi Leonard did not play at all in the fourth quarter, a sign that the Clippers were hellbent on getting the two-time Finals MVP some rest ahead of Saturday’s game in Boston.
“Yeah, he’s good,” said Lue postgame about Leonard. “Knowing we got a back-to-back tomorrow, the more I can lessen him, the better it is for us. That’s kind of was my thinking going into it.”
George was originally not listed on the injury report for Friday’s game but made a late appearance in the afternoon when the Clippers downgraded him to questionable following a left groin strain that he had suffered in Tuesday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers:
Paul George said postgame that he re-aggravated a left groin injury but felt good enough to keep playing. However, Lue subbed him out on two occasions late in the game as a precautionary measure. There’s no word on George’s status for the upcoming road trip, but George did say it was something they were “just trying to be ahead of.”
When asked after the game if George came out of the game “OK,” Lue answered in the affirmative: “Yes, sir.”
The Clippers got notable contributions from center Mason Plumlee, who tallied his first double-double since March 2, 2023, as he finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds; guard Russell Westbrook and his 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 26 minutes; and guard Norman Powell’s 17 points in 26 minutes.
Terance Mann netted six points, three rebounds, and two assists while Daniel Theis also finished with six points. Amir Coffey had five points before fouling out. Forward Brandon Boston Jr. checked in late to nab two points and guard Bones Hyland saw his first action since Jan. 5, when he subbed in late for mop-up duty.
The Clippers shot 50.5 percent overall for the game despite connecting on only nine of their 32 long-range attempts. After racking up a then-season-high 68 points in the paint on Tuesday, the Clippers poured in a new season-high of 70 on Friday, further showcasing their commitment to high-efficiency areas — 81 of their 95 field goal attempts came inside the paint or were 3-point tries.
Toronto was led by Scottie Barnes’ 23 points while RJ Barrett chipped in with 22, Dennis Schroder and Gary Trent Jr. each had 13, and Thaddeus Young notched 12. Bruce Brown played in his fourth game with the Raptors since his trade from Indiana, scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds in 32 minutes. The Raptors are now 16-29 and two full games out of an Eastern Conference play-in spot.
The Raptors finished the evening with 26 assists. While that might not seem like a major milestone, it was their 28th consecutive game with at least 25 helpers, which is the longest active streak in the NBA and tied for the third-longest in a single-season in NBA history. The record is 30, by the 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers. It seems like we could potentially see history made soon.
The Clippers turn around and travel across the Canadian border this evening, passing through customs and heading to play the Boston Celtics on Saturday. The Celtics presently sit at an NBA-best 35-10 but it looks like they could be missing stellar big man Kristaps Porzingis due to a left ankle sprain. Porzingis has been listed as doubtful ahead of the meeting. Boston beat the Clippers in Los Angeles 34 days ago, 145-108. It remains the Clippers’ worst loss of the season.
With the way that the Clippers have been playing as of late, the top seed in the Western Conference is still in play. They trail the Thunder by two games but just one in the loss column as the top four teams in the West are all within two losses of each other.
A win on Saturday against the Celtics isn’t a necessity, but it would be the next legitimate sign that the Clippers are on a mission this season. A loss wouldn’t hurt them all too much considering the circumstances. But a win would be a sweet reward for a team that’s been on a roll and looking for some revenge.
Harden’s sweet reward on Friday night was a triple-double, washed down with a win and some wine.
The guard has made life easier for everyone since his arrival. Harden has earned the chance to relax, step back, and unwine-d.