With the post-season looming, every matchup matters for the Clippers. They’ve been fighting to lock in their Top-6 seed, but against the Thunder, something bigger than a loss threatened their momentum. A hard-fought battle at the Intuit Dome came down to the wire, but by the end of the end of the night, the team’s greater concern wasn’t the final score. It was James Harden. 

The Beard, who carried the team alone for the majority of the season, fell into the injury pit at the wrong time. In fact, the home side looked poised to win the game until Harden‘s late-game injury tied them to a tough 103-101 loss. Coach Ty Lue, who returned to action after an injury break, had some concerning news for fearful fans.

“James getting hurt. He couldn’t really move. We probably should have saved him from himself and got him out. He was pretty pretty stagnant once he came back in, but he wanted to try to get through,” he said. After matching up to the Thunder’s offensive force, it turned into a cat-and-mouse game in the fourth quarter.

With James Harden struggling to move freely on the court, the offensive pressure fell on Kawhi Leonard. Even though the veteran did an impressive job, recording 25 points with 10 rebounds, the team needed a little more. Anyway, let’s focus on the injury. During the late end of the first half, the Beard took an awkward fall on the courtside. However, James immediately got himself up and limped a bit. But he seemed determined to continue playing.

Speaking of the fall, Lue said, “He got hit. He got hit in the thigh. And then I think when he was falling, he kind of, you know, sprained his ankle… that was tough.” So, the bottom line is that Harden could fall into trouble, especially with the postseason around the corner. So, how serious is the injury? Let’s hear it from the veteran himself.

James Harden provides a brief update about his injury vs OKC

As Ty Lue pointed out, Harden wanted to check back into the game despite his niggle, and apparently, that cost them the game. In the last quarter, he entered the game with 6 minutes left in the game with the Clips trailing by one point. Unfortunately, the star couldn’t make any impact, as he only dropped 2 points and one assist. 

After the game, James Harden briefly addressed his injury. “I’m alright… I rolled my foot. I got bumped, I got kneed in the thigh. I was hopping and I rolled my foot. It’s in the middle of my foot. It’s a foot roll.” When asked if this was something he had experienced before, Harden confirmed, “Yup.” As for whether it heals quickly, he added, “We’ll see.” (credit: Joey Linn of On SI)

Harden has been remarkably durable with the Clippers, but the last time he dealt with a multi-week injury was in November 2022 while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. During a home loss to the Washington Wizards, he suffered a right foot tendon strain—the same foot he rolled on Sunday night—and was sidelined for over a month. While it remains unclear if this latest injury is as serious, it’s a concerning reminder of his past foot issues.

And although Lue mentioned his misgivings in letting James continue (Ty could have replaced him with Ben Simmons, who has shown promising signs), the Clippers coach revealed that he had yet to talk to him. “I don’t know. He’s in the training room right now. I didn’t get a chance to. I know he got hit in the hip. And then when he fell he sprained his ankle a little bit. So that was the reason why he couldn’t really attack at the end of the game.” 

And now with only 11 games left in the season, LA can’t afford to lose their offensive mastermind while they are in their pursuit to clinch 6th seed. As of now, there is no official medical evaluation, but given Harden’s history, the team and fans will be eagerly awaiting an update in the coming days.