Clippers’ James Harden flashes vintage form in OT win over Raptors

The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing noticeably better basketball over the past month or so; as one would recall, they began the season with a ghastly 6-21 record, with many believing as though this was the beginning of the end for the Kawhi Leonard and James Harden-led core. But the Clippers’ turnaround continues, as on Friday night, they took a 121-117 victory over a good team in the Toronto Raptors, on the road no less, despite not having the services of Leonard who sat out with an ankle issue.

With Leonard out, the responsibility to carry the team fell on Harden’s shoulders. And with the entire Clippers roster seemingly dipping into the Fountain of Youth, The Beard managed to get them over the line in a hard-fought battle.

Harden found his second wind during crunch time, scoring 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and in overtime to give LA its 12th victory over the past 14 contests, as pointed out by ClutchPoints Clippers beat reporter Tomer Azarly.

When the game was hanging in the balance, the Clippers turned to Harden over and over again and he delivered. This is nothing short of an excellent win, as they managed to give Leonard the day off ahead of their two-day break from action without it costing them.

Clippers’ unsung heroes step up in Kawhi Leonard’s absence

Harden would not have been able to do this on his own considering that he struggled for the first three quarters of the Clippers’ eventual win. Five other players scored in double figures for LA, with Jordan Miller and Cam Christie combining for 35 points (19 and 16 points, respectively) off the bench.

Miller, in particular, was a godsend on Friday, as he put in a 46-minute shift to cover for Leonard’s absence. This is the kind of performance that the Clippers need from their supporting cast moving forward as they try to climb above .500.

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