BOSTON — With Kawhi Leonard sidelined indefinitely, James Harden is doing what he can to lead the Clippers.
Harden turned in his second stunning performance in as many games, but he and the Clippers couldn’t outlast the Boston Celtics in a 121-118 loss on Sunday afternoon.
Coming off his 82nd career triple-double (41 points in a double-overtime victory in Dallas on Friday night), Harden scored 32 of his 37 points in the second half Sunday to pace the Clippers.
The Clippers trailed by 24 early in the second half, but they got within 119-118 on Harden’s 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left. Boston’s Payton Pritchard was immediately fouled and made two free throws. Harden then had an open look at a potential tying 3-pointer, but it hit off the rim as time expired.
Ivica Zubac added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who were playing the second game of a seven-game road trip and lost for the seventh time in their past eight games. John Collins had 17 points for the visitors, who made 28 of 30 free-throw attempts.
Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. sustained a right knee injury during a collision late in the second quarter. Jones, who scored five points in 11 minutes, fell to the court and grabbed his knee before being helped to the locker room and did not return.
Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and had 13 rebounds and Pritchard added 30 points (shooting 8 for 13 from 3-point range) to lead the Celtics. Derrick White had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Neemias Queta contributed 14 points and nine boards for Boston, which has won three of its past four games.
Playing for the first time since beating Memphis by 37 points at home Wednesday, the Celtics nearly squandered their big third-quarter lead but never trailed and held on.
Pritchard shot 4 for 6 from 3-point range in the first quarter, after which the Celtics had a 37-30 lead. Boston led by as many as 16 in the opening 12 minutes.
The Clippers trailed 40-35 following a Nicolas Batum 3-pointer with 10:04 remaining in the second quarter, but Boston stretched its lead to 59-41 on a Brown three-point play with 4:02 left in the second. The Celtics shot 9 for 20 from behind the arc on their way to a 63-49 halftime lead.
The Celtics scored the first eight points of the second half and led 79-55 after Pritchard made his eighth 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining in the third. The Clippers crept back into the game with a 15-2 run that sliced Boston’s lead to 11, and Harden made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.4 seconds left in the third that reduced Boston’s lead to 90-85 entering the final 12 minutes.
After that, Brown scored 11 of Boston’s initial 16 points in the final quarter to keep the Celtics in control, mixing a 3-pointer with a conventional three-point play and a couple of mid-range jumpers.
UP NEXT
The Clippers play at Philadelphia on Monday at 4 p.m. PT in the third stop of a seven-game road trip.