LOS ANGELES – What a difference a month makes for James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers.
After struggling in November and trying to incorporate Harden into the lineup after he was acquired in a Nov. 1 trade with Philadelphia, the Clippers closed a successful December with a 117-106 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Paul George scored 23 points while Harden added 16 points and 13 assists for the Clippers, who were 11-2 in December, the best mark in the Western Conference for this month.
“I give credit to our coaching staff and players for just working through all that adversity when we lost six games in a row (in November) and just trying to figure it out,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said according to AP.
“Once we figured out our rotations and how we wanted how to play, we’ve had to win games different ways, ugly sometimes. We’re doing some good things and I like our attitude right now.”
The Clippers entered December three games under .500 on the season. They began the month with nine straight wins for their longest winning streak since 2015-16. Los Angeles was missing Kawhi Leonard for the fourth straight game due to a left hip contusion and has gone 2-2.
Harden has picked up some of the scoring slack with Leonard not in the lineup. He is averaging 20.5 points in Leonard’s absence, which is three points more than his season average.
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