After losing to the Lakers in the previous game, the Clippers sat back-to-back at home to face the Suns, Harden, Westbrook and Durant "Thunder Three" reunited, and the battle between the Suns Big Three and the Clippers Big Four was also eye-catching, and the game was one-sided, and the Clippers took the game away in the final quarter in waves, defeating the Suns 138-111 to win.
With this victory, the Clippers have a 15-3 record in their last 18 games, improving their overall record to 23-13, just two wins away from the third-place Nuggets in the West.
Harden played 30 minutes, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range, and had a quasi-triple-double of 19 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, with a game-high plus/minus of +25.
Harden was comfortable in scoring and tandem throughout the game, with 0 points and 5 assists in the first quarter to connect the whole team, 15 points and 2 assists in the second quarter, 4 points and 3 assists in the final quarter, and the game with 5 minutes left.
Whether it is from the game scene or from the team's record, Harden is fulfilling the "terrifying moment" promised after joining the Clippers.
Harden perfectly solves the shortcomings of the Clippers' lack of a playmaker No. 1 position, and this season the Clippers have a 10-1 record in Harden's assist-double games.
In the last six games, Harden has handed in a double-double in five games, and the only game in which he failed to make a double was against the Lakers in the last game, where he had 15 points and nine assists.
With Harden in tandem, George and Leonard can devote more energy to offense and defense.
George had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 1 steal on 10-of-19 shooting, plus/minus +21, 8-of-15 shooting, 1-of-3 three-pointers, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 1 block.
As the core players found their niche, the rest of the Clippers' role players also gathered around them to shine.
In this game, the Clippers shot more than 50% of the players, and the team shot 85 times, hitting 53 of them, and the overall shooting rate was as high as 62.3%.
The last time they faced the Suns, the Clippers also played an inexplicable offensive performance, during which the offensive efficiency was as high as 141.6, well above the 117.8 for the entire season.
Among the role players, Zubac is the most eye-catching, and gradually grew into a new generation of cake kings under the cultivation of Harden, with 8 of 9 from the field, and an efficient score of 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, with a plus/minus of +14.
After the game, Zubac bluntly said that when there are point guards like Harden and Westbrook on the team, it is very simple to dominate the interior.
In the face of such a proud performance of the team, Wei Shao, who took the initiative to enter the substitute, was very happy and completely immersed in the game.
Wei Shao played 15 minutes in the whole game, scoring 9 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals on 3-of-6 shooting.
In the case of not playing much time, Wei Shao still has a full sense of presence off the court, and he frantically outputs trash talk on the bench, which not only makes his teammates laugh, but also his old teammate Durant.
Durant was also asked after the game about the time he played with Westbrook and Harden, and Durant said: "We'll never forget that time, we went into the league together, it was a very special, special day, and I always think back to it, I love playing with these guys. ”