Clippers Notes: Harden, Intuit Dome, Bench, Game 4

During a recent conversation with Marc J. Spears of Andscape about resurgent 2024/25 season, 11-time All-Star Clippers guard James Harden revealed that he was confident his hometown team could capture its first title this summer.

First, the Clippers will need to emerge out of the first round. L.A. is currently knotted with the No. 4 seed Denver, 4-4, in their ongoing first round series. Through four games, the 6’5″ superstar is averaging 21.3 PPG, 9.5 APG, 4.8 RPG and 1.3 BPG. He’s connecting on a slash line of .453/.400/.833.

“I’m so comfortable in my world and what I supposed to be doing out there,” Harden said. “I think we got the team. We can play isolation basketball with two great ISO players. We got post game with Zu [Ivica Zubac] and Whi [Kawhi Leonard]. Defensively, we’ve been really, really good all year. So, for me, it’s about just keeping my composure, just going out there and reading the game and doing what I am supposed to be doing.”

“We got a chance to be the last team standing, which is easier said than done. But we focus on ourselves,” Harden said. “We are playing well right now.”

Last summer, the 35-year-old inked a two-season, $70MM deal to stay with the Clippers. His comeback performance this season may have earned him a raise. Harden has a $36.3MM player option for 2025/26. If L.A. advances and Harden continues to thrive, he could make serious long-term bank.

There’s more out of L.A.:

• The Clippers ultimately split their first two 2025 playoff games at their new arena, the Intuit Dome. Per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times , L.A. tried to keep an even keel following its 117-83 Game 3 win on Thursday. “We got to build off it,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of the Clippers’ victories in Games 2 and 3. “I liked what we did defensively. It’s still going to be a tough series. It ain’t over ’cause we had a blowout. It’s only one game. So, we got to be ready to come and validate that on Saturday.” Leonard notched a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Harden and shooting guard Norman Powell each chipped in 20 points apiece, while Zubac logged 19 points and nine boards.
• A big component of the Clippers’ success has been its impressive bench depth, opines Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Forwards Nicolas Batum and Derrick Jones Jr. and guards Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons have all made vital contributions to the team’s playoff push so far. L.A.’s bench outscored Denver’s 31-6 in the aforementioned Game 3 triumph. “Our bench has been good for us all year long,” Lue said. “I think just understanding the plays we’re trying to run and how we want to attack – we can’t waste possessions. The second unit is just trying to get caught up as far as understanding what we’re trying to do.”
• The Clippers’ sunny series outlook suffered some late-game gloom on Saturday night, when a buzzer-beating Aaron Gordon dunk gave the Nuggets a 112-110 win and evened the series, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. The loss summoned flashbacks of a recent L.A. series against Denver, the 2020 West semifinals, which the Clippers had led 3-1. A spectacular unraveling yielded a shocking seven-game L.A. defeat. Murray also recalls the unexpected Deandre Ayton dunk in Game 2 of the 2021 Western Conference Finals that helped the Finals-bound Suns snag a late win, and the 2020 buzzer-beater then-Mavericks guard Luka Doncic nailed to draw Dallas even with L.A., 2-2, in a first round series.