Inglewood, California-James Harden delivered another 50-point game on Wednesday evening and achieved a relapse performance in the new arena of the Clipper.
The All-Star watch reached this total with Los Angeles and the 24th time in his career for the first time and drew in one of Kobe Bryant in one of Kobe Bryant in NBA history.
Harden's big night when former President Barack Obama was sitting behind one of the Baselines alongside Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, Los Angeles was winning from 123-115 over the Detroit Pistons.
Harden said he had already met Obama and they had a good relationship.
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“So it was pretty cool to see him in the game,” said Harden. “Probably the reason why I played so well.”
Harden already had three 40-point games this season, but he had not reached the 50-point plateau, which always seemed in sight when he led the league three times from 2017 to 2020 with the Houston Rockets.
And at a perfect time for his desperate team, which brought 23 points against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and was on back-to-back competitions without Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell on the second night.
At the age of 35, hardest player in NBA history, who scored 50 points on zero-day break, and only Stephen Curry, star of Golden State Warriors, remained, who was about four months older in February 2024.
“To get him out and achieve 50 on a back back, only says a lot about him at the age of 35,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “And compete every evening and play on the back back for 38 minutes. But we needed every piece of it.”
Harden quickly brought the Clipper into the route with 23 points in the first quarter and ended the field 14 of 24, with six 3-pointers winning the free-wing line with 16 against 20. It was Harden's fourth career game 50-point game when it made 25 or less shots, most of each player in the gunshot (since 1954-55).
Harden played 38 minutes, but said that the severe workload didn't take out much.
“I can do it. It's not like it was my first time,” he said.
Wilt Chamberlain has the NBA record with 118 games of 50 or more points, followed by Michael Jordan with 31 and Bryant at 25.
Bryant has organized many goal shows in Los Angeles, but Harden was the largest in the intuit Dome, the new arena of the Clipperers, in which the NBA All-Star game of the next season is organized.
Harden ended with the eighth 50-point game in franchise history, the first since Lou Williams on January 10, 2018 in Golden State. He started Williams, Bob McAdoo and World B. Free as the only player in club history with at least four 40 points games in one season.
But he couldn't get a picture after the game with Obama.
“He left,” said Harden. “I think he wanted to hit the traffic.”
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
