The Clippers returned home from a three-game trip seeking to break out of the malaise that led to three consecutive losses.
They left Inglewood last week on a four-game winning streak, feeling good about how they had been playing. But they lost their mojo and wanted to get it back.
The Clippers achieved that Sunday, defeating the Utah Jazz 116-105 at Intuit Dome on a night when James Harden reached a career milestone.
With six minutes and nine seconds left in the first quarter, Harden drilled a three-pointer to break a tie with Ray Allen for the second-most threes in NBA history. Harden has 2,975 three-pointers over his 16-year career.
“Unbelievable accomplishment,” Harden said. “Just a testament to the amount of work that I’ve been putting in. As I get older and just chip away at an unbelievable career, start to accomplish things like that. So I don’t ever want to take it for granted. I just want to give motivation to the youth and every other person that’s chasing a dream to play professional basketball or whatever it is. So it’s an honor.”
Harden finished with 20 points, going two for eight from three-point range, to go along with 11 assists.
“I mean, to be a scorer, the way he can score at all three levels and then be second all time in three-pointers made is crazy,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, “and a lot of tough threes — off the dribble, step-backs, pocket threes, pulling up off the dribble and pick and rolls, and just to see what he’s accomplished. Being a two-guard when he came into the league and then [he] transitioned to a point guard his whole career, like I said, it’s been great. And, so, to be second all time, that’s a crazy stat, a crazy accomplishment and I’m just happy for him.”
Harden only trails all-time leader Stephen Curry (3,782), who will be in town Monday night when the Warriors face the Clippers.
So does Harden think he could catch Curry?
“I mean, I’m one of the most confident guys that we have in this league, but no, I probably won’t catch Steph. And I don’t think anybody will, honestly,” Harden said.
The Clippers also got a lift from the return of center Mo Bamba, who had missed the first 13 games recovering from a left knee injury. Bamba was solid in his return, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds in 15 minutes.
“Yeah, I thought Mo was great,” Lue said. “I thought his length, his size was really good. Rebounding the basketball, rolled to the basket, got some dunks and putbacks, and then his three-point shot was going to come around. He hasn’t played in two or three months. … He really did a good job. So it’s good to have him back.”
Ivica Zubac had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Norman Powell had 19 points.
Lue had mostly wanted his team to stay the course while in their funk, but he also wanted his group to clean up some things.
Lue wanted a better effort on the backboards, which the Clippers did by collecting 41 rebounds to match Utah’s total.
Lue wanted his team to take care of the basketball, which they did by turning the ball over just nine times.
It all led to the Clippers opening a 23-point lead and coasting in from there over a Jazz team with the worst record (3-10) in the Western Conference.
The Clippers did see their lead sliced to seven points with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter after Jordan Clarkson made a three-pointer, but they held on for the win.
