James Harden is still scoring well, becoming the 20th player in NBA history to reach 26,000 points during the Los Angeles Clippers’ 125-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
However, Harden was more focused on the points the Clippers have been losing, as they let double-digit leads slip away in both games of a back-to-back.
The team was ahead by as much as 21 points on Thursday after blowing a 10-point lead in a close 106-105 loss to Portland the night before.
“It’s definitely frustrating, just ’cause we was up double digits in both games,” Harden said. “Last night, we didn’t (play well) and we still had a double-digit lead. Tonight, we played well, especially in that first half and up 20-something.
Like, it’s there. We just got to find ways to not lose it and continue to play our brand of basketball.” Harden reached this milestone when he made his second free throw with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter.
This also marked his first triple-double of the season and the 78th of his career, tying him with Wilt Chamberlain for seventh place in NBA history. He finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Harden did have six turnovers, including a critical one that occurred when the game was tied at 105 with 5:20 left. Phoenix capitalized on this mistake with a 3-pointer from Devin Booker, taking a lead they never gave up.
“You’ve seen the usage rate I got, it’s going to happen,” Harden said. “Like, turnovers is gonna happen. … But the ones that are unforced, I gotta control those a lot better. But I don’t think it’s necessarily turnovers that lost the game. That third quarter, defensively, they just didn’t feel us, defensively, our presence.”
The Clippers have lost three games this season by a total of just 10 points. Harden believes these close losses might help them later, especially since Kawhi Leonard is still out with a knee injury.
“We just got to find ways to execute and win ’em,” he said. “The last two were tough, but we’ll get there sooner than later.”
