The Nets had just beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles before the game against the Clippers, and the Los Angeles Clippers they faced in the last five games had a record of just 1 win and 4 losses. The Nets are still led by Harden alone, and the Clippers' boss George is unable to play due to injuries. In the end, the Nets, led by Harden, won two consecutive victories over the Clippers at home 124:108.
Harden is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to the Nets' big victory, this game Harden played for up to 40 minutes, 25 shots out of 15 of 9 of 3-pointers, 4 of 4 of 39 points, but also got 8 rebounds and 15 assists of luxury data, plus or minus is also as high as the game-high +17. In the first half of the game, Harden was already in full swing, scoring 22 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting, helping the team establish a 16-point lead at halftime. By the second half of the game, Harden's firepower remained unabated, hitting the 3+1 that killed the game in the last four minutes of the fourth quarter while getting a luxurious double-double with 39 points and 15 assists.
This game can be called Harden's strongest battle this season, in terms of scoring, Harden scored a new season-high 39 points in 15 of 25 shots, in addition to the excellent feel of the outside mid-range shooting, Harden also frantically killed the inside to create damage, repeatedly breaking through the inside line to win. In terms of organizing the team, Harden delivered 15 assists in this campaign, setting a new season high. In addition to his teammates who are good at sending wonderful passes after blocking and dismantling, Harden also gave a lot of assists to shooters on the outside in this game. In the end, under his tandem, Clarkston on the inside scored 18 points, Griffin scored 12 points, and Mills and Bembry on the outside had 18 and 12 points, respectively.
This game is also a milestone in Harden's career, and in the third quarter of the game, Harden has already achieved achievements. According to statistics, after this game, Harden's career total assists reached 6,000, becoming the 10th player in NBA history to score more than 20,000 points, rebound more than 5,000, and assists more than 6,000. The only players in the active league who can do this in addition to Harden are James, Paul and Westbrook. More important than reaching the milestone, it is more important for Harden himself and the Nets that the once omnipotent Harden seems to have fully announced his return, which is very good news for the Nets.
After missing multiple games to trigger the league's health and safety deal, Harden became the first of the Big Three to comeback from lifting the agreement. In the first game of the comeback, Harden led the Nets to challenge the Lakers led by James and Westbrook in the Christmas war. Although James's performance in this campaign was very eye-catching, and once led the team to equalize in the final quarter, Harden, who finally scored 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 10-of-25 shooting, finally helped the team win 122:115. From the game against the Lakers, Harden's performance was very strong, and the fiery state continued into this game against the Clippers.
With the Nets currently having a large number of players trigger health and safety agreements and are unable to play, especially after Durant and Irving are absent from the game, Harden, who leads the team alone, has become the Nets' savior during this time. In fact, before these two games, Harden's performance was actually very big ups and downs. In most of the games so far this season, although Irving can't play to give Harden more ball rights, he will also face greater defensive pressure, coupled with the league's adjustment of rules to make Harden's "bumping porcelain" style of play useless, resulting in Harden's performance in many games is very unsatisfactory.
According to statistics, up to now this season, Harden has played 28 games for the Nets, averaging only 22 points per game in an average of 36.5 minutes per game, shooting only 41.5% from the field and only 34.3% from three-point range, all three of which are the lowest since leaving the Thunder. Whether it is from the data or the performance on the court, Harden not only has a big decline in scoring, his offensive efficiency is also very low, in many games has become the main reason for the team's loss, if it is not Durant's hard support, the Nets are simply not able to still achieve the first record in the East.
After the comeback, Harden played a very different state from the previous game this season, both in terms of scoring and organization, but also to ensure his offensive efficiency, Harden's return to form is undoubtedly very good news for the Nets. The reason for this change is inseparable from the following points. On the one hand, Durant's absence has forced Harden to take on greater responsibility, and he must help the team win through his excellent performance. According to statistics, in the past two games, Harden has played a total of 79 minutes, including 39 minutes against the Lakers, 40 minutes against the Clippers, and 25 shots in both games, which is also a new high since the season.
On the other hand, from these two games, it can be seen that Harden has broken the shackles before this season on the offensive end, become no longer hesitant when breaking through, frantically killed the opponent's interior line in two games, and achieved very good results, and also played a super difficult 2+1 in this game. Moreover, Harden has no longer focused on finding fouls when breaking through, but is not afraid to kill the inside score. In terms of outside shooting, Harden's shot is more resolute, whether it is facing the opponent's defense or empty shot, Harden no longer has so many scruples. Under this Harden leadership, the Nets have won two key games in a row, after all, their current position in the East is not stable, and the Bulls behind them are very competitive.
Although the current situation of the Nets is still very grim, and many players on the team are still unable to play, the return of Harden's status makes the Nets full of hope, as long as Harden can maintain his form in the next game, then although he is a single core to lead the team, the Nets will not be afraid of any opponent. Moreover, Durant and Irving are also about to usher in a comeback, coupled with the return of Harden, the Nets will still be the most promising team to impact the championship this season.