On April 29, Beijing time, in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Clippers chased the big score to 2-2 on the road in a 1-2 unfavorable situation, and regained the home court advantage. In this series G4, the Clippers established a big lead early, blasting out 39-16 in the first quarter, leading by 23 points in a single quarter, and in the second three quarters of the game, the Mavericks struggled to chase points, and even narrowed the difference to single digits in the fourth quarter, but Harden performed bravely, he scored 15 points in the final quarter to lead the team to win, and the Clippers narrowly defeated the Mavericks 116-111. Although the Clippers won, they still needed to improve their defense, and they were almost reversed with a 30+ lead.
Harden of the Clippers is the first contributor to the team's victory, he played 40 minutes, 12 of 17 shots and cut 33 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, 4 of 5 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, it can be said that this is the best game of Harden's career in the Clippers, and Harden scored the highest score in 4 consecutive games, averaging 26 points per game. George also had 33 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 1 block, and made 7 of 10 three-pointers. In the series G1, Leonard also didn't play, Harden scored 28 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists, and George scored 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Perhaps the Clippers could consider resting Leonard until the end of the first round.
Other players also contributed, with Zubac having 13 points and four rebounds, Mann having 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Powell coming off the bench with 11 points. The Clippers played a perfect game, and the Clippers are expected to be out for the next game, and even if he wants to, the Clippers coaching staff will hold him in the audience. It is worth mentioning that relying on the performance of 33+6+7 in this game, Harden also set a new playoff record that has never been seen before, becoming the first person in NBA history.
According to media statistics, since Harden entered the league in 2009, he has played in the playoffs for 5 teams, namely the Thunder, Rockets, Nets, 76ers and Clippers, and he has scored 30+ in the playoffs, becoming the first star in history to win 30+ in the playoffs in 5 different teams. It's a record that is unprecedented, and it won't be broken for a long time, because in addition to requiring players to play at a high level for a long time, they also have to play for five different teams and have to make the playoffs, which is not ordinary.
Harden is only a little weaker than his previous self, but stronger than 95% of the NBA's active players, he is 35 years old, he is still in his prime, and he has completely convinced the fans. Moreover, Harden's playoff assists came to 1,041, surpassing Kobe Bryant to rank 11th all-time. The first game created a number of miracles, I believe that in the future, Harden's tactical status in the Clippers is also higher, from the perspective of this year's playoffs, let Harden hold the ball in the Clippers to play the most powerful, Leonard after his return, or focus on scoring and defense, he is really not good at organizing the team's offense.