April 27, 2024
James Harden Passes Magic Johnson On All-Time NBA Playoff Points List
Though the Clippers are struggling against the Mavericks, Harden has been a consistent bright spot in the opening round series.
Though the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 101-90, on April 26, Clippers guard James Harden received a consolation prize: He passed Magic Johnson on the all-time NBA playoffs points list.
Harden was 7 of 13 from the field and five of eight from behind the three-point line in 44 minutes of playing time. The next player on the list for Harden to pass is Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon, who sits in 15th place with 3,755 career playoff points.
Though the Clippers are struggling with the Mavericks and are down 2-1 in the series, Harden has been a consistent bright spot during the opening round series. On the Mavs side, Luka Doncic has been praised for his defense of Paul George, Harden, and Kawaii Leonard. Despite not being known for his defensive acumen, Doncic has stepped up, which makes Dallas more difficult to deal.
Doncic told Sporting News that he is up to the responsibility of being targeted on defense. “That’s fine. I accept it,” Doncic said when asked about the Clippers attacking him defensively after game 2. “Gets me going on defensive end, so they want to attack me, that’s fine. I think I played good defense today, so gotta stay locked in.”
George, as Bleacher Report reports, remained optimistic about the Clippers’ chances in the series, telling reporters after the game he believes the team has “enough talent in this locker room” to compete. George also praised Harden. “James is still one of the best in the world, Russ [Westbrook] is still one of the best in the world,” he said. “Myself, I mean, we still have enough.”
In his career, Harden has scored 25,855 points in the regular season, good for 23rd all-time. He is a 10-time All-Star and was named the NBA’s 2017-18 Most Valuable Player.
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