The James Harden-loaded Los Angeles Clippers were up against the Houston Rockets tonight. After the entire episode of Russell Westbrook sacrificing his position in the starting lineup, there was still skepticism about Harden. With the star point guard stepping down for the new teammate, Harden was laden with more responsibility to record a win tonight.

The newly acquired star guard, however, delivered his best performance tonight to secure his first victory. The Crypto.com Arena made the Clippers believe that somehow the trade wasn’t too bad for the franchise.

James Harden records first win with Clippers

To the relief of ‘The Beard’, after a losing streak of six games, the franchise recorded a marginal win. The Clippers defeated the Rockets, 106-100. After tonight’s game, it seems like James Harden doesn’t need “at least 20 games” to get in line with the playing pace of the franchise. It turns out Harden can take a sigh of relief because the future games might hold out a chance to register a winning streak, given Ty Lue’s approved new starting lineup.

Terance Mann was placed in the lineup instead of Russell to make the line-up less chaotic. This move seemed to help ‘The Beard’ as he was about to tie Kawhi Leonard for the game-high of 24 points. Although the player missed out on the record with the late free throws, the winning 3-pointer plus And-1 did it for the team. However, this might not be suitable for Russell Westbrook. Since the player sacrificed his position for the team, this victory somehow makes the staff hopeful of another victory if ‘Beastbrook’ again comes off the bench.

James Harden and Co. vs. Houston Rockets 

The Clippers managed to record their first win in the 2023 NBA in-season; however, chances point towards a speculative elimination. Since only one group stage game is left, the team doesn’t seem to stand a chance to even dream about going to Las Vegas. In tonight’s game, Harden made a jump start with a two-point driving layup. Leading the team in the first quarter, ‘The Notorious Player’ recorded three successful free throws after drawing the shooting foul on Jabari Smith Jr.

Although the team witnessed a slight dip in the second quarter, the recovery points in the second unit did the magic. Leading the team 27-23 in the fourth quarter, Harden recorded 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in his 34 minutes on the hardwood.

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If Russell Westbrook decides to come off the bench again in the next game, do you think the Clippers stand a chance to win? Let us know in the comment section below.

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