Future Hall of Fame guard James Harden had his signature moment as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night against the Indiana Pacers.
Harden had dropped a mere 14 points through three quarters with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard doing their thing.
That’s when the former NBA MVP went absolutely nuclear in Indianapolis. Harden dropped a career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. That included hitting four consecutive three-pointers and a snow angel celebration inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Harden finished the game hitting on 12-of-16 from the field, including 8-of-11 from three-point range. Per the Clippers, he’s the 10th player in franchise history to nail eight-plus three-pointers in a single game.
Harden had struggled to an extent scoring since being acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers early in the season.
James Harden stats (2023-24): 16.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.5 APG, 46% shooting, 41% 3-point
Playing third fiddle behind George and Leonard, Harden had been efficient in his limited opportunities to score. That 41% 3-point figure would represent the highest single-season percentage of Harden’s already-brilliant career.
But it’s pretty darn clear that he wanted to take on a score-first mentality in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the highest-scoring team in the Association. In the end, it led to a blowout 151-127 Clippers win.
Related: James Harden and the top-50 NBA players of 2023-24
NBA world reacts to James Harden going nuclear
Harden going vintage caught the eye of the NBA world. That’s especially true with the Clippers having won seven consecutive heading into Monday night’s game without The Beard doing his thing from a scoring standpoint.