INGLEWOOD — James Harden couldn’t help himself. Harden stirred the pot, after hitting one of his trademark step-back mid-range shots.
Stirring the pot, a move suggesting he was cooking on the court, was as much of Harden’s game as his midrange jumpers earlier in his career, something he was well-known for while with the Houston Rockets.
The three-time NBA scoring champion has not performed that move since joining the Clippers early last season, putting it aside as he moved on from previous stops. Until Sunday night.
With the Clippers clinging to a four-point lead with 1:07 to play, Harden buried that 16-footer over Peyton Watson to pad the lead en route to a 126-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome.
Harden wasn’t apologetic, feigning ignorance about his antics. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he joked.
Harden had every reason to pull out his old move after scoring a game-high 39 points and falling just short of a triple-double with nine rebounds and 11 assists. He made all 13 of his free throws while shooting 10 for 26 from the field and 6 for 15 from 3-point range, like the Harden of old.
“I’m feeling a lot better. My legs are starting to – for an older guy in this league, 16 years in this league, it takes me a little bit more time to get acclimated especially (since) my role has changed,” said Harden, who moved back into the point guard position after joining the Clippers. “I haven’t had this role in four or five years, so it’s just taken me some time to get there.
“Game by game I continue to get better. I’ll eventually put a lot more efficiency in and less turnovers, but you know at this point, you just find ways to win games.”
And that’s exactly what the Clippers have had to do without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard this season, who has missed 22 games because of ongoing knee issues.
The Clippers were able to win their eighth home game in a row achieving the near impossible – slowing three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.
“Try is the word,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Man, I mean it’s really not one way. You got to try to show him different looks, which I’m sure he’s seen probably pretty much everything in the book.”
The Clippers did more than try Sunday. Jokic had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season, but the Clippers got the best of him with solid defense and 18 made 3-pointers of their own.
“I thought we did a good job of trying to keep size on him, we tried to keep (Ivica Zubac) on him, matching him minute for minute for the most part, then, take away his 3s,” Lue said of Jokic.
The fuss over Jokic couldn’t overshadow the return of Powell, who missed the past six games because of a strained left hamstring. Powell, playing on a minutes restriction, finished with 28 points in 24 minutes.
Powell scored the first two baskets of the game and kept rolling, hitting 9 of 17 shots (5 for 8 from 3-point range).
“I thought he was a little rusty as far as getting to the paint and his layups,” Lue said of Powell. “I thought his 3-point shot was good and as the game went along, he found his rhythm and got going.”
But it was Harden’s play that stood out. In leading the team, he joined Steph Curry as the only NBA players with at least 3,000 3-pointers.
“He’s been great,” Lue said. “Just his leadership, having a hard training camp, doing everything, just trying to get us ready for this journey. He’s leading by example, playing every day, practicing everyday. He hasn’t shot the ball like he’s accustomed to shooting, but that’s coming along in the last four or five games.”
The Clippers needed all of Harden’s points to secure the season series against Denver.
Leading 115-113, Powell was fouled by Christian Braun with 2:24 left and made all three foul shots to take a 118-113 lead.
After Jokic made one of two foul shots, Harden hit a 16-foot jump shot to extend the margin to 120-114.
Jamal Murray made it 120-116 on a jumper, before Terance Mann, seeing his first significant minutes in weeks, buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Clippers a 123-116 lead with 1:07 left.
Braun rebounded Gordon’s 3-point miss and scored to pull the Nuggets within 123-121 with 19 seconds left, then Zubac split a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining for a 124-121 lead.
Jokic then missed one of two foul shots and Harden made both of his free throws with nine seconds left to seal the series-clinching victory.
The Clippers knew finding a way to combat Jokic’s all-around game could be done. Jokic scored 41 points when the teams met in their second game of the season in Denver, but the Clippers held him to five assists and beat the Nuggets by five points.
“But it is hard to slow him down because if you double-team him, he’s a great passer. If you play one-on-one, he’s great as far as shooting 3’s as well as getting guys into foul trouble,” Lue said. “So, it’s a tough cover.”
The Clippers led by 11 twice in the first half only to watch Denver tie it at halftime. The Nuggets opened the third quarter with a 21-11 run to take a 10-point lead, but the Clippers rallied behind six 3-pointers – three each by Harden and Powell – to lead 92-90 going into the fourth.
Amir Coffey added 13 points and five rebounds for the Clippers, while Mann had 12 points in 24 minutes.
Michael Porter Jr. added 18 points for the Nuggets and Jamal Murray had 15. Aaron Gordon, who was sidelined for the last 10 games with a calf injury, came off the bench and scored 10 points.
