Friday night saw the LA Clippers put together another masterful win. Their 127-107 thrashing of the Toronto Raptors was their 21st win in their last 25 games, continuing their streak of high-level play.
James Harden led the way in scoring for the Clippers with 22, followed closely by Paul George with 21 and Russell Westbrook with 20. Norman Powell chipped in 17 and Kawhi Leonard followed with 16 to round out an extremely balanced scoring attack from the road team.
Returning to the city where he took home his most recent NBA championship, Kawhi Leonard now has arguably his best chance at reaching the NBA mountaintop once again. He and all of his teammates have of course been instrumental in leading the charge for this stellar season, but Leonard can especially give a big thank you to James Harden.
After all the chatter about how Harden might distract and/or ruin this team, he has in fact been their missing piece. Against the Raptors, James put up yet another triple double, his first as a member of the Clippers. The triple double was the 75th of Harden's career.
🚨JAMES HARDEN TRIPLE DOUBLE ALERT🚨
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 27, 2024
Tonight was Harden’s 75th career triple-double, 8th most in @NBA History pic.twitter.com/nsfVf5S5qh
James Harden put up his 75th triple double against the Raptors
Harden has recorded the eighth most triple doubles in NBA history, and is just five more of them from passing Wilt Chamberlain for seventh. His all-around skill with the basketball has been proven time and time again, and Friday night was just the latest example.
As James Harden or any member of the Clippers would tell you, logging a triple double is not nearly as important as adding to the win column. But Harden's excellent understanding of his role in LA has led to impressive stat lines like this one, and it continues to lead to wins as well.