James Harden Stuns NBA With Historic Triple-Double—What His Latest Feat Means for the Season

LOS ANGELES — James Harden delivered one of his signature stat-sheet eruptions on Nov. 10, piling up 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, yet the Clippers still slipped 121-117 to the visiting Atlanta Hawks, their fifth straight defeat despite Harden scoring 19 fourth-quarter points to give L.A. repeated chances to tie the game. The loss dropped the Clippers to 3-7 and fed a growing narrative that the former MVP’s post-trade fit alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George remains a work in progress. After the game, Harden acknowledged the frustration, saying the group “hasn’t earned the right to relax for a single possession,” but he also pushed back on outside criticism, insisting the early skid “is on all of us”. Two nights later, the situation grew murkier when the 11-time All-Star was ruled out of Thursday’s 115-102 loss to Phoenix because of personal reasons, forcing coach Tyronn Lue to shuffle the rotation again. Team officials declined to elaborate, but sources indicated the absence was excused and unrelated to the team’s on-court struggles. Through his first ten appearances in a Clippers uniform, Harden is averaging 24.8 points, 8.7 assists and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 39 % from deep, production that mirrors his Houston prime. Yet the Clippers rank just 23rd league-wide in defensive rating during that span, underscoring how Harden’s high-usage offense has not masked lapses on the other end. Upcoming home matchups with the Mavericks and Nuggets will test whether L.A. can flip the narrative before Thanksgiving. Internally, coaches point to clearer role definition—especially in late-clock scenarios where Leonard, George and Harden have often taken turns instead of flowing through their sets. “We’ve got three closers,” Lue said. “Now we have to learn how to close together.” Harden, who holds a $50 million player option for 2026, can quiet speculation about another summer of movement by stabilizing the Clippers’ backcourt and guiding the franchise past the conference-semifinals ceiling it has hit three of the last four seasons. A bounce-back win streak would also bolster his push for a 12th All-Star nod and keep him in the thick of the early MVP conversation. For now, though, the talk around Crypto.com Arena is less about gaudy box scores and more about translating them into wins—a challenge James Harden must help solve quickly if L.A. hopes to avoid digging a hole too deep to climb out of in the loaded Western Conference.