LOS ANGELES – After suffering a six-game slide with an altered roster in early November, the Los Angeles Clippers have found their footing with a new six-game win streak.
The Clippers managed to hold off the Warriors, including eight threes from Klay Thompson to advance to 14-10. The team still remains seventh in the West, but have found themselves half a game behind Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard combined for 55 points to contribute to the Clippers 121-113 victory over Golden State.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday night:
James Harden reaches 25,000
Despite what many critics may say, Harden continues to establish a name for himself in NBA history books.
During the third quarter the Clippers guard reached 25,000 career points, becoming the 24th player in the league’s history to achieve the milestone.
Harden scored 28 points in 42 minutes while going 5-6 from beyond the arc Thursday. He also grabbed a season-high 15 assists that led to 36 points for LA. On the defensive end, he posted four blocks and a steal.
Despite the historic night, Harden reportedly had his left hand wrapped with an ice pack.
Through 17 seasons Harden has averaged 24.5 points, 7.0 assists, and 5.6 rebounds on 46/39/87 shooting.
Paul George day-to-day with hip injury
Paul George was initially stated as questionable heading into Thursday’s game, but then was announced out by head coach Tyronn Lue hours before tip-off. George missed his first game of the season due to a sore left hip. He sustained the injury in Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, and did not play in the second half because of it.
While Lue stated George completed some shootaround, the head coach also said George would remain day-to-day. The injury puts an end to George and Kawhi Leonard’s 23-game streak of playing side-by-side this year.
Amir Coffey started in place of George and put up 18 points in 29 minutes.
Kawhi Leonard scoring at will
Leonard has combined for 133 points in his last four games after leading LA with 27 Thursday. He also posted eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and one block on 9-16 shooting.
The Moreno Valley native continued to dominate on defense as well. Stephen Curry, who averages 21 points on 46.8% shooting, was held to just 17 pts on 29% because of Leonard.
Over his last nine games, Leonard has averaged 28.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and one steal per game.
He has played in all 24 games to start the season for the first time since 2016-17.
Up next, the Clippers are back in action at Crypto.com Arena Saturday to host the New York Knicks. A three-game road trip featuring bouts with the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder will follow starting Monday. Then the team will return to LA on Dec. 23 to face-off with the Boston Celtics.
