Clippers’ James Harden Helps 76ers With Vintage Scoring Performance

Since his days of leading the league in scoring with the Houston Rockets, James Harden’s point production hasn’t been the same. After averaging 34 points per game in 2019-2020, Harden hasn’t averaged more than 24 points across a long stretch in any of his post-Houston stops, including the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and now the Los Angeles Clippers.

After putting up 21 points per game in 58 matchups with the Sixers last season, it was clear Harden was searching for the perfect balance of scoring and facilitating. As a result, Harden led the league in assists per game, dishing out 10.7 dimes on a nightly basis.

Following a season-and-a-half run with the Sixers, Harden received his wish to be moved to the LA Clippers. Since making his debut in early November, Harden’s impact slowly improved throughout the course of his fresh start out West.

Through his first 20 games in a Clippers uniform, Harden has averaged 16 points per game. Once again, his scoring has come into question. However, for the Clippers, Harden’s been a big help amidst their seven-game winning streak, which improved to eight in a row on Monday night, thanks to a vintage Harden performance.

Help From an Old Friend

Harden and the Clippers paid a visit to the Sixers’ Eastern Conference rivals, the Indiana Pacers, on Monday night. Through the first stretch of the 2023-2024 NBA season, the Pacers have been posing quite a threat, looking like one of the conference’s most notable risers. 

Lately, they’ve been slipping, though. And the Clippers offered a stiff reality check to the young, up-and-coming team as Harden scored a game-high 35 points in just 28 minutes of action.

With some help from their old friend Harden, the Sixers saw the Pacers take a dip to the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed this week, dropping to 13-12 on the year with a 151-127 loss. With that defeat, the Pacers are on a four-game losing streak.

As for the Sixers, they personally struggled to find success in their own matchup on Monday against the Chicago Bulls. Heading into the matchup, Philly held a six-game win streak, which was the second-biggest in the league behind the Clippers. 

Despite taking on a loss, the Sixers are comfortable in the third seed, on the heels of the 19-7 Milwaukee Bucks. While there’s a lot of basketball left to be played, the East’s early playoff picture is already seeing some shakeups, with the Pacers falling quickly after an impressive In-Season Tournament run.