A vintage performance by 11-time All-Star James Harden lifted the Los Angeles Clippers to a rare road victory. They will look to make it back-to-back wins Sunday when they continue their seven-game trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Harden scored a franchise-record 55 points in just 35 minutes Saturday, sending Los Angeles to a 131-116 victory at the Charlotte Hornets. He made 17 of 26 field goal attempts, including 10 of 16 on 3-pointers and 11 of 14 on free throws.
“The work I put in individually, I put in for the entire team,” Harden said. “It hasn’t worked for us lately, so I’m happy we won. Basketball is life.”
The Clippers’ win was just their second in eight away games as well as their second in 11 contests in November. It also marked their first regulation victory since Oct. 31 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Harden lit up the Hornets for a league season-high 35 points in the first half, winding up with his 25th career 50-point game to tie Kobe Bryant for the third most in NBA history.
“When I looked up and saw he had 27 at the end of the first, I knew he had it going, but I didn’t know how many points he had,” Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said. “He carried us offensively and I thought we did it the right way, getting the ball to the second side.”
Backup point guard Chris Paul also achieved a notable milestone in Charlotte, grabbing his 6,000th career rebound, just hours after announcing this would be his final season. He is the first player with 20,000 points, 12,000 assists and 6,000 rebounds.
Paul is in his 21st year in the league and his second stint with the Clippers, ranking second all-time with both 12,532 assists and 2,727 steals.
The Cavaliers also boast two All-Star guards — both in the prime of their careers — in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, who combined for 52 points and 12 assists Friday in a 120-109 home win over the Indiana Pacers.
Mitchell compiled 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but was more pleased to be reunited with Garland, who had 20 points and seven assists in his first game since re-injuring his left big toe on Nov. 10.
“Selfishly, I didn’t have to bring the ball up,” Mitchell said. “I’m serious, but I’m joking. When you have a guy who is on the scouting report as a scorer and a passer, it really helps. And Darius was efficient.”
Garland has only appeared in four of Cleveland’s first 17 games, averaging 14.8 points and 5.5 assists after undergoing offseason surgery on the toe that he initially hurt in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana.
With Garland sidelined, the Pacers eliminated the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.
“We know they put us out last year, so it was a good win for us, a good step in the right direction,” Garland said. “No matter who we play against, we come with the same fight, the same intensity, the same competitive spirit.”
The Clippers will be the final opponent on Cleveland’s six-game homestand over 11 days. The Cavaliers have gone 3-2 on their longest stay in Northeast Ohio this season, despite not having Garland or swingman Jaylon Tyson available for the first four.
Tyson had been sidelined for five games with a concussion before returning with 14 points and eight rebounds against Indiana.
“It’s going to take some time, especially when we get everybody 100% back, but we’re starting to get some flashes of stuff from last year,” Garland said.
