James Harden Laments Over Clippers’ Injury Woes After Losing 21pt 4Q Lead to Lakers

With the NBA regular season underway, the Los Angeles Clippers are currently emerging as one of the best teams of the year. Over the course of 16 weeks, they have placed themselves as the 4 seed on the Western Conference Table and are continuing to maintain that position game after game. There seems to be some difficulty in upholding that effort since the past few games, however, as the impressive lineup is facing fluctuations due to unexpected lapses.

The LA Clippers recently faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers. With LeBron James leading the charge, the Lakers managed to pull themselves out of a 21-point deficit to secure a 116-112 victory over their rivals.

During a post-game interview, James Harden stated that “everything” that could have gone wrong went wrong for their team during the game. When asked whether Kawhi Leonard, who missed out on a 12-footer shot, is holding himself responsible, Harden stated that “we’re all in this together” and whatever mistakes were made, they were made as part of a team effort.

Harden blamed the “injuries” sustained by his teammates for hampering the momentum. “It’s a long season. As much as we wanna win every game, it’s not reality,” said Harden.

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Clippers shooting guard Paul George ended up missing his second game in a row after developing a soreness in his left knee, while team center Ivica Zubac was also not present during the Lakers matchup as he is recovering in light of a yet unspecified illness.  The presence of both players could have helped the Clippers to deliver a decisive blow to the Lakers and avoid today’s loss. Zubac’s size would have provided a defensive advantage when going up against Anthony Davis, while the deadly combination of George and Kawhi Leonard would have created an offensive front that left their rivals wondering.

LeBron James helped the Lakers overcome a 21 point deficit to beat James Harden’s Clippers

Despite the fact that James Harden and Kawhi Leonard led the effort during the game, with the former scoring 23 points and the latter 26, the absence of two prominent players resulted in them adding a loss that could have been easily avoided.

The Clippers had a good start to the game and were holding their position well as the third quarter. Things, however, started to change when only 11 minutes and 45 seconds were left in the fourth quarter and the team was leading by a score of 98-77. LeBron James took the charge and dropped an astonishing 19 points, including 5 three pointers, during that time period itself. Thanks to his leadership effort, four other Lakers ended up securing points in the double digits by taking on the Clippers weak defence.

Do you think that Kawhi Leonard’s baseline jumper could have turned the game’s last-minute odds? How valuable do you think are Paul George and Ivica Zubac for the Clippers? Let us know in the comments down below.