James Harden has vintage performance in Los Angeles Clippers narrow victory over Atlanta Hawks

There was a ton of offense in tonight’s matchup as it was a high scoring affair, but James Harden stole the show with his near triple double performance. He helped lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 149-144 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.

The Clippers have been dominant this season and look to be a contender to win the 2024 NBA Finals. With 2 All-Stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, 2 former MVPs in James Harden and Russell Westbrook, and extraordinary role players who fit nicely such as Terrance Mann, Ivica Zubac, and Norman Powell, it seems like LA has all the right pieces to make a deep playoff push. It’s exciting to be a fan of this team, especially when they open their new stadium at the start of next season to fully separate themselves from the Lakers shadow in Los Angeles.

James Harden played spectacular tonight and he looked like the prime Houston version of himself in this game. The Beard finished with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block with 6 threes made, including the dagger triple with a minute left in the game. Kawhi Leonard also played amazing, finishing with 36 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Paul George ended the night with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

For the Hawks, Trae Young had 25 points, 2 rebounds, 12 assists, and 2 steals. Dejounte Murray had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists while De’Andre Hunter scored 27 points off the bench to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

This win improves the Clippers to 34-15, which makes them 3rd in the Western Conference. LA is now 0.5 games away from being the 1st seed, as they are 9-1 over their last 10 games and currently on a 4-game winning streak. Their next game will be on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Meanwhile, this loss drops the Hawks to 22-28 on the season, which makes them 10th in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is now 1 game behind the 9th seeded Chicago Bulls and 1.5 games above the 11th seeded Toronto Raptors. They are 5-5 over their last 10 games and will play against the top seeded Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.