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James Harden scores 17, looks solid in Clippers debut, but team does not in loss to Knicks

Analyzing Harden's Clippers debut
Dan Patrick and Co. break down James Harden's debut with the Clippers.

There were moments in James Harden’s debut Monday where The Beard reminded everyone he is very good at basketball.

Harden put up a quality stat line of 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, was 2-of-4 from 3 plus had six assists on the night.

He was also -18 in a game where the Clippers’ new stars looked like a team at the start of training camp figuring out how to play next to each other while Tyronn Lue experimented with lineups.

“There was a lot going on in my mind. I’m just happy to be out there and getting to hoop,” Harden said. “I have to iron some things out, watch the film and get better. It’s a process with this group but we have unlimited opportunities.”

Meanwhile, the Knicks’ Julius Randle was aggressive and broke out of his early-season slump, dropping a team-high 27. RJ Barrett added 26 and the Knicks pulled away in the fourth quarter to get the win at home, 111-97.

For Harden and the Clippers, this is just the first step in the journey, and to a man they use the word patience and process a lot.

“I love the process that we have to go through to get to where we want to get to and were going to get there for sure, but we need to try to keep everyone in rhythm,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I’m not going to panic right now, but I’m going to make sure everyone’s comfortable and playing to their abilities. It’s going to be tough when you have four guys that are used to having the ball in their hands, so the sacrifice is there but we just need to make sure we’re better and it starts with me making sure we have everyone involved in the game.”

You could see how the Clippers were trying to figure out the dance from the opening tip. With a starting five of Harden, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac, Harden played primarily off the ball in the first quarter and had zero shots but a couple of assists while Westbrook scored nine.

To start the second quarter, Harden took over for a stretch and scored seven quick points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Lue was clearly experimenting with lineups, and while it’s a very small sample size, one thing seemed clear on this night — Westbrook and Harden were better when separated. Harden scored 15 of his 17 points when Westbrook was off the court. However, it’s hard to draw any conclusions until the injured Terance Mann rejoins the rotation (likely coming off the bench at first). There is no timeline yet for his return although it could happen during this Clipper road trip that runs through Sunday.

Also possibly out for a while is Mason Plumlee, who had to be carried off the court Tuesday after Randle fell into his knee. The only official word from the Clippers right now is a sprain but it looked worse than that and we should get the results of an MRI in the next couple of days. Plumlee was +10 in this game off the bench and would be a rough loss for Los Angeles if he misses extended time.

This was a grinding game that was not pretty at times. In the first half the teams combined to shoot 9-of-35 from 3 and the Clippers had 10 turnovers but the Knicks topped that with 11.

Those kinds of games are where Tom Thibodeau’s teams tend to thrive.

The Knicks found a groove they have been missing for the first couple weeks of the season — in part because Randle started scoring — but Mitchell Robinson added 13 and Donte DiVincenzo had a dozen off the bench. The Knicks were strong on the glass and were forcing Clippers turnovers, which was key. The win improves the Knicks to 3-4.

New York knows who and what it is, even if the team hasn’t been playing like that much of the season.

The Clippers are just starting to figure it out, and Lue said the next 10 games would be an experiment. If they keep getting this version of Harden, the Clippers will win a few of those, too.