The old guys of the NBA are having a moment right now. LeBron James has only gotten better since turning 40. Steph Curry is lighting it up since the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler. And last night James Harden dropped 50 on the previously red-hot Pistons to lead his Clippers to a 123-115 win, doing it in front of former President Barack Obama.
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This was a vintage Harden performance, replete with 6 threes and a 16-20 showing from the free throw line. The Pistons were powerless to stop him all night, but they can take comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone, because Harden has been playing at a high level all year long.
Harden now has 24 50-point games in his career, which is only one less than Kobe Bryant for third place all-time. The Run It Back podcast spoke this morning not only about how impressive Harden’s night was, but how impressive it is that he’s still playing at such a consistently high level in his 16th NBA season.
“The guy’s just a professional bucket-getter, he’s been doing this his whole career,” Chandler Parsons said. “He’s also not slowing down at all. He’s one of these guys like Steph, like LeBron, like KD, where they are still so productive, still an All-Star this late in his career. It’s super impressive.”
All four of the guys Parsons mentioned have been killing it since the All-Star break. The Clippers have hung in the Western Conference playoff race behind great seasons from Norm Powell and Ivica Zubac. Having Kawhi Leonard back is huge. But Harden, who has averaged 22.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists this year, has been the team’s clear MVP.
James Harden may need more scoring outbursts if the Clippers hope to finish this season strong
Harden’s big scoring night was necessary with Powell, the team’s leading scorer, on the shelf with a hamstring strain. It’s unknown how long Powell will be out, but Lou Williams believes that in his absence, Harden is going to need more games like this one to keep the Clippers’ offense going.
“He has to put his facilitator hat down and he has to put on his scoring hat, especially when you got one of your prolific scorers out of the lineup. You gotta be that guy, that’s been your DNA your entire career.”
Lou Williams says the Clippers need James Harden to have more games like his 50-point performance last night:
“Every once in a while, you gotta pop out and show that you can score with the best of ’em.” – @TeamLou23@MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/rL9unxQ3oz
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 6, 2025
Not many people believed in the Clippers before this season started. In fact, Harden’s team ranked 12th in the Western Conference in terms of their preseason odds to make the playoffs, ranking ahead of only the Spurs, Jazz, and Blazers. Harden has been a huge reason why the team is 33-29 and just a game out of a tie for sixth in the West.
If the Clippers hope to avoid the play-in, Williams is right that they’ll need more offensive explosions from Harden, especially with Powell out.
