INGLEWOOD, Calif. — James Harden delivered every other 50-point sport Wednesday evening, placing on a throwback efficiency within the Clippers’ new enviornment.
The All-Big name guard reached that general for the primary time with Los Angeles and the twenty fourth time in his occupation, pulling inside certainly one of Kobe Bryant for 3rd maximum in NBA historical past.
Harden’s large evening, with former President Barack Obama sitting subsequent to Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer at the back of some of the baselines, carried Los Angeles to a 123-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Harden stated he had met Obama earlier than, they usually had a just right dating.
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“So it used to be beautiful cool to look him on the sport,” Harden stated. “Most definitely the explanation why I performed so neatly.”
Harden already had 3 40-point video games this season, however he hadn’t reached the 50-point plateau that at all times gave the impression in sight when he used to be main the league in scoring 3 times with the Houston Rockets from 2017 to 2020.
And it got here at a great time for his determined workforce, which blew a 23-point lead Tuesday in opposition to the Phoenix Suns and used to be with out Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell on the second one evening of back-to-back contests.
At 35, Harden is the second-oldest participant in NBA historical past to attain 50 issues on 0 days’ leisure, trailing simplest Golden State Warriors famous person Stephen Curry, who used to be about 4 months older when he did it in February 2024.
“To peer him pop out and rating 50 on a back-to-back, on the age of 35, simply says so much about him,” Clippers trainer Tyronn Lue stated. “And competing each and every evening and taking part in 38 mins once more at the back-to-back. However we would have liked each and every little bit of it.”
Harden were given the Clippers temporarily again on the right track with 23 issues within the first quarter and went on to complete 14-of-24 from the sphere, making six 3-pointers and going 16-for-20 on the loose throw line. It used to be Harden’s fourth occupation 50-point sport when taking 25 or fewer photographs, probably the most through any participant within the shot clock generation (since 1954-55).
Harden performed 38 mins however stated the heavy workload did not take so much out of him.
“I will be able to do it. It is not love it’s my first time,” he stated.
Wilt Chamberlain has the NBA report with 118 video games of fifty or extra issues, adopted through Michael Jordan with 31 and Bryant with 25.
Bryant placed on a lot of scoring presentations in Los Angeles, however Harden’s used to be the largest but within the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new enviornment that may host subsequent season’s NBA All-Big name Recreation.
Harden ended up with the 8th 50-point sport in franchise historical past, the primary since Lou Williams on Jan. 10, 2018, at Golden State. He joined Williams, Bob McAdoo and Global B. Loose as the one avid gamers in membership historical past with no less than 4 40-point video games in a season.
However he wasn’t in a position to get an image after the sport with Obama.
“He left,” Harden stated. “I suppose he sought after to overcome the visitors.”
ESPN Analysis and The Related Press contributed to this record.
