James Harden scores 25,000th career point in Clippers’ 6th straight win

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James Harden #1 of the LA Clippers takes a shot against Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - James Harden scored his 25,000th career point while racking up 28 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and eight rebounds in the Los Angeles Clippers’ sixth straight victory, 121-113 over the slumping Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

Norman Powell scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers, who overcame Paul George’s first injury absence of the season for their 11th win in 14 games. Los Angeles adroitly held off the Warriors’ late surge and improved to 5-0 at home in December.

Klay Thompson scored a season-high 30 while hitting eight 3-pointers for Golden State, which went 0-3 on its road trip and has lost 12 of 16 overall.

Stephen Curry scored 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting as the Warriors began another potentially lengthy stint without Draymond Green, who is indefinitely suspended after smacking Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Tuesday.

Before the game, Golden State coach Steve Kerr emphasized the team’s support for the suspension and for Green, who will be getting unspecified help to address his escalating recent instances of misbehavior and overly aggressive play. The four-time NBA champion and defensive whiz has been suspended four times in 2023 alone.

George missed his first game of the season after injuring his left hip Tuesday against Sacramento. Coach Tyronn Lue didn’t appear to believe the injury will be a long-term problem for the Clips’ second-leading scorer.

Both teams shook up their regular starting lineups due to key absences. Golden State promoted Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski to replace Green and Andrew Wiggins, while Amir Coffey moved into George’s starting role.

Podziemski had four points on 2-for-11 shooting in the rookie’s first career start, while Kuminga scored 15 points in his second start of the season.

Thompson is off to a quiet start, but the veteran sharpshooter put on a vintage performance in his native Southern California. He hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Warriors in it, but Curry and Thompson combined for 1-for-7 shooting in the fourth.

Chris Paul scored 12 points against his former team for the Warriors, who have lost seven straight road games, including two this month to the Clippers. Paul was also whistled for a Flagrant Foul 1 in the second quarter when he knocked down Daniel Theis with a two-hand shove while blocking out under the Clippers rim.

Harden became the 24th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points on a driving layup late in the third. The veteran has fit in quickly with the Clippers, shooting a strong percentage while adjusting his overall game to fit alongside Leonard and George.

George’s absence was a relatively rare injury setback this season for the Clippers, who have been largely healthy for the first time in the concurrent tenures of George and Leonard.

Leonard has played in every game after being injured or frequently rested throughout his previous Clippers seasons. George hasn’t played in more than 56 games in a season for LA.

Paul hit a 32-footer at the third-quarter buzzer to trim the Clippers’ lead to six points, and the Warriors got within one early in the fourth quarter before promptly going scoreless for the next three minutes.