James Harden suffered an ankle injury in Sunday's loss to OKC but downplayed its severity, saying, "I'm alright, I rolled my foot," while Clippers coach Tyronn Lue admitted Harden "couldn't attack at the end of the game" due to his injury.
Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden made NBA history on Sunday night, passing Moses Malone for 11th place on the league's all-time scoring list.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
26
|
| Isaiah Hartenstein | |
| Points | 14 |
| Accuracy | 6-12 |
| Rebounds | 10 |
| Assists | 6 |
With his latest milestone, Harden now has 27,416 career points, putting him just 473 behind Carmelo Anthony (28,289) and the Top 10. However, the night didn't come without setbacks.
Harden suffered two injuries during the game. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue revealed that after taking a knee to the thigh from Lu Dort, Harden struggled to move, and later, he also rolled his ankle after a fall.
"Hopefully, he's okay, but we'll see," Lue said in the post-game conference. "That's the reason why he couldn't attack at the end of the game."
Harden, however, downplayed the severity of his injuries.
"I'm alright, I rolled my foot," he said post-game via Joey Linn. "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 he had dealt with a similar injury before, Harden simply replied, "Yup." As for whether it would heal quickly, he said, "We'll see."
Harden's historic moment came in the third quarter when he banked in a floater off the glass for his 27,410th point, surpassing Malone.
He finished the night with 17 points, five rebounds, and eight assists, though the LA Clippers fell just short in a 103-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 35-year-old Harden is averaging 22.5 points on 39.6% shooting (34.5% from three), along with 5.8 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.5 steals over 68 games this season.
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