There are two minutes left to play between the Clippers and the Nuggets, James Harden plays isolation against Peyton Watson. As in the Rockets era, the leader places himself at the 3-point line, continues dribbling between the legs before starting his movement towards the circle, then his signature “stepback”. Peyton Watson moves back several yards and the ball falls into the circle.
James Harden can turn his hand like a spoon when simmering a good dish, or a good jam. Because his XXL performance was once again the driving force for the Clippers in the victory against Denver.
Without Kawhi Leonard, whose return remains as enigmatic as ever, James Harden knew that the offensive responsibilities of the Los Angeles team would mainly fall to him, as with Houston.
A rise in power
The only playing master of this team, he finished this time at 39 points, after his 43 points on Wednesday in Washington, and one rebound away from a big triple-double (9 rebounds, 11 assists). James Harden thus played the entire second period, and seemed in much better condition than a few weeks ago.
“ I feel much better » explained the man who had not scored 30 points or more twice in the same week since the very first of the 2022/23 regular season. “ For an older player, with 16 years in this league, it takes me a little longer to acclimatize, especially since my role has changed. I haven't had this role for four or five years. So it's going to take me a little more time before I'm completely done. Match after match, I continue to be better and I will end up becoming more efficient. »
Everything is not yet perfect, with a 10/26 shooting on Sunday, or even five lost balls. But there is improvement, even in this last area, from 5.2 lost balls on average in the first 10 matches to 3.8 in the next 11. And James Harden is simply more aggressive, as evidenced by his fifth game with more than ten free throws attempted in his last seven outings. His 10/10 in the second period (23 of his 39 points) including 7/7 in the last quarter largely attenuated his mediocre shooting percentage.
The mark of 3,000 career 3-point shots exceeded
This was also paradoxically better on Sunday by far than at 2 points. With six award-winning shots against the Nuggets, James Harden became the second player after Stephen Curry to pass the mark of 3,000 successful 3-point shots. “ It's another accomplishment you never take for granted »reacted the evening star.
And when the path to the basket closed, the Denver defense choosing to block access to the circle, James Harden was as altruistic as he was decisive, as with Terence Mann's long shot which put the Clippers away a full minute from the end.
“ It's hard to see it from afar but on the floor, he knows when to attack, when to take his shots, when to find the unmarked guys » rejoices Norman Powell, back from injury. “ He makes almost every key decision in their attack »Reacted Nuggets coach Mike Malone. “ He can dominate you by creating for others and that shows you his talent, the quality of his game where he is not just the scorer. »
A control over the attack which “saves” the other players, who can give their all in defense. And the Clippers, who we could fear in the tough after losing Paul George this summer, then Kawhi Leonard for an indefinite period, remain in the right car, with 13 victories for 9 defeats.
| James Harden | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2009-10 | OKC | 76 | 23 | 40.3 | 37.5 | 80.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 9.9 |
| 2010-11 | OKC | 82 | 27 | 43.6 | 34.9 | 84.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 12.2 |
| 2011-12 | OKC | 62 | 31 | 49.1 | 39.0 | 84.6 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 16.8 |
| 2012-13 | HOU | 78 | 38 | 43.8 | 36.8 | 85.1 | 0.8 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 25.9 |
| 2013-14 | HOU | 73 | 38 | 45.6 | 36.6 | 86.6 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 25.4 |
| 2014-15 | HOU | 81 | 37 | 44.0 | 37.5 | 86.8 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 27.4 |
| 2015-16 | HOU | 82 | 38 | 43.9 | 35.9 | 86.0 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 29.0 |
| 2016-17 | HOU | 81 | 36 | 44.0 | 34.7 | 84.7 | 1.2 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 11.2 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 29.1 |
| 2017-18 ★ | HOU | 72 | 35 | 44.9 | 36.7 | 85.8 | 0.6 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 8.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 30.4 |
| 2018-19 | HOU | 78 | 37 | 44.2 | 36.8 | 87.9 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 36.1 |
| 2019-20 | HOU | 68 | 37 | 44.4 | 35.5 | 86.5 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 34.3 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 44 | 37 | 46.6 | 36.2 | 86.1 | 0.8 | 7.1 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 24.6 |
| 2020-21 * | BRK | 36 | 37 | 47.1 | 36.6 | 85.6 | 0.8 | 7.7 | 8.5 | 10.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 24.6 |
| 2020-21 * | HOU | 8 | 36 | 44.4 | 34.7 | 88.3 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 10.4 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 24.8 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 65 | 37 | 41.0 | 33.0 | 87.7 | 0.8 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 22.0 |
| 2021-22 * | BRK | 44 | 37 | 41.4 | 33.2 | 86.9 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 10.2 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 22.5 |
| 2021-22 * | PHL | 21 | 38 | 40.2 | 32.6 | 89.2 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 10.5 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 21.0 |
| 2022-23 | PHL | 58 | 37 | 44.1 | 38.5 | 86.7 | 0.7 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 10.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 21.0 |
| 2023-24 | LAKE | 72 | 34 | 42.8 | 38.1 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 8.5 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 16.6 |
| 2024-25 | LAKE | 22 | 34 | 38.5 | 34.6 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 22.3 |
| Total | 1094 | 35 | 44.0 | 36.3 | 86.1 | 0.8 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 7.2 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 24.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
