The Milwaukee Bucks fell to 25-18 Saturday night with a 127-117 loss to the Clippers, thanks in large part to a 40-point explosion from James Harden that featured 28 in the second half. In the midst of a statistical decline this season, Harden cued a flashback to his days as the league’s leading scorer.
Fellow point guard Damian Lillard supported the aging star in his postgame comments. “I think in the era that we in right now, we got people on the internet and people in the media and people on TV that don’t watch games,” he lamented. “They just throw out stuff and talk bad about players, and they make it appear as if guys can’t get it done anymore.”
Lillard put on an outstanding performance himself, notching his second straight triple double with 29, 10, and 10 while netting 16 of 17 free throws. He and Harden went toe-to-toe throughout the game, near mirror images in offensive play style.
Throwback James Harden Dominates Milwaukee Bucks Despite Damian Lillard’s Best Efforts
For his part, The Beard was a perfect 12-12 at the line and sank 4 of 10 triples, going 12-24 overall from the field; he also dished out 9 assists and turned it over only once. Crossing over into stepback threes, driving in the lane for an and-one floater, grifting jumpshot foul calls, Harden orchestrated a signature masterpiece.
“I think tonight, you see a guy like James come out and you see that he’s capable,” Lillard continued. “He come out and get 40, making plays, still drawing fouls, still making threes off the dribble, getting into the paint. There’s a reason why he’s one of the greatest players to play the game.
“You got to respect it and understand that he’s capable of having these types of games, and if you allow him to, you know, it’s gonna be tough to win a game on the road.”
In his 16th season, Harden has shown signs of slowing down, making a career-low 39.7% of his shots and averaging 8.5 or fewer assists for the second year in a row after putting up 10+ in the three campaigns prior. While Harden’s dip in production cannot be overlooked, Lillard is wise in his words. On any given night The Beard can still put on a show, and it’s what doomed the Bucks on Saturday.
A Close Game the Clippers Put Away Late
Milwaukee held a lead as late as the 9:35 mark in the fourth quarter, when a Dame turnover led to a Clippers fastbreak bucket to tie the game at 100. The turning point came two-and-a-half-minutes later with the Bucks down six, when Harden drew a three-shot foul on Lillard via his patented up-and-under “shooting motion,” Harden’s second time that night being fouled on a shot beyond the arc.
He hit all three free throws to extend the lead to nine and the Bucks never got more than a point closer.
While Lillard voiced his frustrations to officials on the court, he did not reference Harden’s chicanery postgame, expressing only respect for the 35-year-old all-time scoring threat. “You got a group of guys in the league right now that are on that list of the 75 greatest players,” he said, implying Harden’s place within it.
The Bucks have two candidates of their own in Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who put up 36 points and 13 rebounds in the loss while sinking 12 of 15 freebies.
Milwaukee continues its road trip Monday night in Utah against the Jazz (10-33).
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