Four games into their season, and the Scissors just seems to know how to play close games.
It was tight against the Phoenix Suns in an opening loss and tight against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back wins.
On Wednesday night, the Clippers found themselves in another game that came down to the wire at the Intuitive Domea game that they could not pull out in losing 106-105 to the Portland Trail Blazers.
After Deandre Ayton gave the Trail Blazers a 106-105 lead, the Clippers didn’t score again.
Ivica Zubac missed two free throws with 1:20 left, Norman Powell (30 points) had his shot blocked at the rim and James Harden (19 points, 10 assists) threw a layup pass with 3.9 seconds left to Zubac that was intercepted by Ayton.
The Trail Blazers then ran out the clock to secure the win.
It meant the fans still couldn’t cheer a first win in their new home, and their biggest cheer of the night came just before the third quarter began, when fans began waving towels, celebrating the news that the Dodgers had beaten the New York . Yankees to win the World Series.
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Despite the intercepted pass, the Clippers have full faith in Harden.
They trust him to make the right play. They trust him to make the right pass. They trust him to find open teammates. They trust them to be their leader.
And with Kawhi Leonard still out with right knee inflammation, the Clippers are leaning on Harden and trusting him to lead the way.
So, when the game started and Harden found Powell for a basket, then found Zubac running down the lane for a pass that led to two free throws and then found Terance Mann for a lob dunk, the Clippers knew again that the ball was in. the hands of the right man.
Harden had six assists in the first half, another sign of how much he dominates. Harden came in leading the NBA in assists, averaging 11.7 per game.
Harden averaged 19.76 drives and 93 touches per 36 minutes in the first three games. Last season he averaged 10.95 drives per 36 minutes, his lowest figure since the 2013-14 season, and 79.3 touches per 36 minutes, his lowest since 2014-15.
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Much of that is because the Clippers had a mostly healthy Leonard and Paul George and Harden didn’t try to claim the ball with his two All-Star teammates playing at a high level.
“Just a different team, different team, different circumstances,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I think last year came with just having PG and Kawhi, not wanting to step on anybody’s toes, coming to other players’ team and just trying to fit in. So, this year it was completely different, and so we need him . make a lot more scoring. We need the ball in his hands and make the plays. So, I think he feels good for the rest of the season.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
