LA Clippers All-Star point guard James Harden has called out his five-time All-NBA First Team Los Angeles Lakers counterpart Luka Doncic.
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The Lakers took down Harden’s Clippers, 135-118, thanks to strong showings from each of the Lakers’ three best offensive players.
Doncic scored 43 points on 14-of-28 shooting from the floor (7-of-12 from distance) and 8-of-11 shooting from the foul line, plus 13 assists, nine rebounds, a block and a steal.
James submitted his strongest showing of the young season, scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor (2-of-5 from beyond the arc) and 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe, six assists, six rebounds, a steal and a block.
Reaves chipped in 31 points while shooting 11-of-16 from the floor (2-of-4 from 3-point land) and 7-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe, nine rebounds, three assists and three swipes.
Per Joey Linn of Clippers On SI, Harden conceded that part of Doncic’s 3-point shooting success against his Clippers was due to just the sheer volume of treys he took.
James Harden on Luka Doncic finding his 3-point shot against the Clippers:
“Great player. You get enough attempts, you’re gonna make some of them.” pic.twitter.com/FRECMn1qoI
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 26, 2025
“Great player,” Harden said of Doncic. “You get enough attempts, you’re gonna make some of them.”
Harden scored 29 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the floor (3-of-12 from deep) and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line, while also dishing out nine dimes and pullig down five boards.
Doncic’s Inefficient Long Range Sniping
Doncic is connecting on a below-average 33.3 percent of his 11.1 triple tries a night.
The Lakers improved to a 13-4 record with the victory, while the Clippers fell to a 5-13 finish on the year.
Harden, in the midst of a solid individual season (at least, on offense), confirmed that he has been struggling to adjust to the Clippers’ awful start.
James Harden said it’s very abnormal for him to be on a losing team, but he’s still confident in the entire Clippers organization:
“Very. Very. But I’m a firm believer — I work my butt off every single day. Not only for myself, but for my teammates… I’ve got more than enough… pic.twitter.com/TSV69vsDjH
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 26, 2025
“Very. Very. But I’m a firm believer — I work my butt off every single day. Not only for myself, but for my teammates,” Harden said. “I’ve got more than enough faith in the front office, the coaching staff, and the players to put everything together.
“I haven’t been in a losing situation before, but I haven’t been in a situation where it literally feels like everything is going against us. So this is gonna be a test to show our character and what we can do later in the season.”
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The Clippers have been predictably saddled with injury issues to their aging roster.
36-year-old Harden has been relatively healthy, but 34-year-old former six-time All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard has missed nine games, while 32-year-old former three-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal is done for the year with a fractured hip.
The Clippers roster is riddled with past-their-prime old guys. Beyond the aforementioned trio of former All-Stars, the tally includes 40-year-old point guard Chris Paul, 37-year-old center Brook Lopez, 36-year-old forward Nicolas Batum, and 32-year-old guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
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