After the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the New York Knicks in James Harden’s LAC debut, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were asked to talk about Harden’s performance.
Harden finished with 17 points and six assists in 31 minutes while shooting 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
“He did a good job his first game in a while,” Leonard said of Harden. “And it takes time to get his legs under him as far as conditioning. But he did a great job to me, got everybody involved running pick-and-roll very well.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers Updates
Added George: “When it comes down to the talent aspect, this is one of the [most] talented teams I’ve played for. We’ll figure it out. First game. A lot of moving pieces, but it was fun. Playing on the court with those guys was fun and a lot of optimism going forward.”
Harden, Leonard, George and Russell Westbrook combined for 62 points. All four All-Stars finished the game with a negative plus-minus.
“I feel kind of weird out there,” Harden said. “But just not really having a preseason game or an opportunity to participate in the full training camp or none of that. It was just [being] out there and just basically winging it. Try to go off my basketball instincts and what I’ve been doing for the last few years or whatnot. I just went out there and playing and thinking the game and trying to make the game easier for everybody else.”
The Clippers are back in action on November 8 against one of Harden’s old teams, the Brooklyn Nets.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Los Angeles Clippers Updates
“I thought overall just orchestrating,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Harden’s playmaking. “Making the right play, making the right pass and pick-and-rolls, he was really good. It’s going to take him a little time to get in game shape. We understand that, but his presence on the floor was definitely felt.”
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