On the morning of January 8, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a key battle - the Los Angeles derby, and this time, it was the Lakers who have been in poor form recently at home.
After the opening, the Lakers took a 7-6 lead at one point. But when the Clippers turned on the forced shot mode, the Lakers' defense was useless. Leonard hit another three-pointer and the Clippers went on a 10-0 run in two minutes. Although Harden missed a 45-degree three-point shot on the left side, he handed out two assists to stop the Lakers.
After half a quarter, the Lakers still scored only 7 points. Seeing that the situation was good, Tyronn Lue replaced four starters one after another, leaving only George. In the next 4 minutes, an embarrassing situation arose, and the Lakers responded with a 7-0 run. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led 24-19, and Harden only played 7 minutes and 39 seconds, with 0 points and 2 assists.
Soon after the start of the second quarter, Deng Ge took advantage of the change of rhythm and scored a layup. Next, Deng Ge repeated his old trick and caused Russell's foul, making one of two free throws.
However, Harden fell silent again for the next three minutes. Just when the Lakers were a little lax on his defense, Deng's three-point shot at the top of the arc was a quick shot, his hand was up and down, and he hollowed into the net.
Prince, who defended Harden in the opposite position, was too sensitive, Harden's continuous crotch change of direction + shot up Prince, the referee whistle blew, and Deng Ge hit all three free throws.
In the last 1 minute of the half, Deng Ge first assisted Wei Shao, who was in the vacant position, to shoot three points. In the next round, Deng Ge missed the layup against Reaves' defensive impact, and the rebound was also iron. After halftime, the Clippers led 53-49, and Harden's stats were 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
In the third quarter, Deng Ge replicated the state of the first quarter, quite quiet, with only 1 shot in this quarter, but fortunately he delivered 4 assists to revitalize the team.
In the final quarter, Deng Ge and Wei Shao appeared early. Although Deng Ge once again put out his signature step-back three-pointer, Russell scored five points in a row, and the Clippers trailed by 10 points, and Tyronn Lue had to hurry to call a timeout.
The Clippers responded in time, and under the leadership of Xiaoka and Pickle Pepper, they launched a wave of 9-0 offense, and the two teams fell into a fierce battle again. The final 2 minutes of the final quarter were tied at 98. With 22 seconds left in the final quarter, the Clippers trailed by five points, and Harden hit a three-point shot from a 45-degree angle on the right side, and the Lakers called a timeout.
However, the Clippers' foul tactics failed to prevent the Lakers from scoring, and Powell missed a three-point shot at the buzzer. In the end, the Clippers lost to the Lakers 103-106, and the five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end. Harden was 4-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-7 three-pointers and 4-of-5 free throws, for 15 points, four rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers.
It is worth noting that in this game, Harden also contributed memes. When James dunked George, Harden's expression behind him was quite eye-catching.