NEW YORK – James Harden ” exhaled audibly when asked Monday night how it felt to return to basketball “after the last four months.”
The old unfortunates 76ers technically, the guard moved on last week, when his overnight trade to the Los Angeles Clippers finally came to fruition. But making his on-court debut with his new team – and during the 2023-24 season – at Madison Square Garden was another notable milestone. Although Harden showed off his facilitation and shooting by totaling 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and six assists, he admitted to bouts of fatigue and finished the night on the bench after the New York Knicks built a comfortable lead in an eventual 111-97 victory.
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“It was a little weird out there,” Harden said. “I just didn’t really have a preseason game or the opportunity to go to a full training camp or any of that, it was just there, basically, flying by. But I tried to get away from my basketball instincts…thinking about the game and trying to make the game easier for everyone.
“After the last four months” was a generic reference to Harden’s messy saga with the Sixers that began in late June and ended on Halloween. He surprisingly exercised the $35.6 million player option in his contract and simultaneously demanded a trade from the Sixers, then was called president of basketball operations. Daryl Morey a liar, then went in and out of team activities throughout the preseason.
Yet the word “Sixers” was never mentioned during Harden’s comments Monday. The only time his former team spoke about it publicly in the past two days was when The Inquirer asked him directly on Sunday afternoon, when Harden said: he didn’t “really look” the Sixers (despite technically being on the roster for their first three games) but praised the quickly rising guard Tyrese Maxey. A source close to Harden reiterated to The Inquirer on Monday that Harden’s only problem with his former team was with Morey.
Instead, how the Clippers will integrate Harden with fellow All-Stars Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook was the main topic. Clippers coach Ty Lue recognized the importance of bringing these players together for the first time in the “Mecca” of basketball. It was also a particularly interesting place for Harden to make his Clippers debut.
It was in this building that Harden dazzled in his second game with the Sixers in February 2022, tallying 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in front of a crowd of raucous fans who traveled from Philadelphia. That’s also where an ESPN report on Christmas morning that Harden was considering returning to the Houston Rockets in free agency first emerged. It’s also near where Harden spent less than 13 months playing for the Brooklyn Nets, before growing frustrated there and paving the way for Morey to make the February 2022 blockbuster also involving Ben Simmons.
On Monday night, Harden could be heard walking up the ramp that leads from the team buses to the main floor of the Garden, as he banged along to the music in his headphones. Then, reminders that Harden is one of the most polarizing players in the NBA peppered the atmosphere.
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As he ran from the visitors’ locker room to the tunnel for his pregame shooting routine, a Junior Knicks player exclaimed, “I just saw James Harden!” During the Clippers’ pregame layup line-up, Spike Lee rose from his seat on the court to dab Harden. But Harden was booed by the home crowd when he was introduced last in the starting lineup and when he got the ball on the Clippers’ first two possessions.
He first squashed that reaction by sending a nifty pocket pass to big man Ivica Zubac to draw a foul under the basket. Harden then connected on his first shot — a baseline jumper over two defenders — early in the second quarter. When he buried a three-pointer a few minutes later, former Sixers minority owner Michael Rubin — a longtime friend of Harden’s — punched Harden’s agent, Mike Silverman, on the leg in celebration. .
“The first two minutes I was tired,” Harden said with a laugh. “I got used to it. It will take me a few matches to get used to the rhythm.
Harden then opened the second half by finding Leonard for a one-handed dunk. He hit a floater to tie the score at 73 late in the third quarter, then drew “ugh” and “ohhh” reactions seconds later when he hit another deep shot.
But then two Knicks with Philly made impact plays to take control in the final frame. Former Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo scored eight points in just over two minutes to extend New York’s lead to 14 points. Former Wildcat Josh Hart totaled two assists, a steal and five points in the period, including a fast-break layup to put the Knicks ahead, 104-88, with 4:25 left and prompt Read to make the huge replacements.
Meanwhile, at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers beat the sad Washington Wizards to snatch their fifth consecutive victory. Maxey continued to thrive, compiling a career-high 11 assists (and no turnovers) to go along with 22 points. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid had 48 points – including a Sixers-record 29 points on 10-of-10 shooting in the third quarter – and added 11 rebounds and six assists.
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Harden’s former teammates have therefore also evolved. The two parties won’t see each other until late March, when the Sixers and Clippers play twice in four days.
By then, the Clippers expect to be much better than they were in Monday’s outing. Lue broke up a play, when his former Sixer compatriots PJ Tucker and Norm Powell both gathered in the same corner while Harden had the ball. The Clippers had been instructed throughout training camp to cut whenever Leonard or George came out of a pick-and-roll. But when Harden manages, Lue said, he now wants those teammates to stay in their spots because of Harden’s exceptional court vision.
“I like the process we have to go through to get to where we want to get,” Lue said. “And we will get there, that’s for sure.” Trying to keep everyone in rhythm with four dynamic scorers is difficult.
It’s a situation Harden has experienced three times this season since the start of 2021. When a reporter brought this up after Monday’s game, Harden joked that “you make it seem like It seems so bad.”
He East the truth. Harden was a Sixer. Now it’s a Clipper.
And on Monday night, Harden exhaled audibly. Because he had finally gotten back into basketball.
“There was a lot going on in my mind,” Harden said. “But I’m just happy to be out there and able to play hoops.” Now we’ve sort of sorted things out. Watch a movie. Get better. It’s a process with this group, but we have unlimited opportunities.
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