WASHINGTON — Given a second chance to close out the game, James Harden took advantage.
Harden scored 36 points, and when he finally missed a couple of big free throws in the final seconds, the ball came right back to him as the Clippers edged the Washington Wizards, 110-106, on Monday afternoon for their sixth straight victory and 13th in their past 15 games.
Harden made two free throws with 36.9 seconds left to give the Clippers a 108-106 lead, and after the teams traded scoreless possessions, Kyshawn George missed a 3-point attempt for Washington. Harden was fouled with 5.9 seconds left. At that point, he was 16 for 16 from the line, but he missed both free throws.
The Wizards couldn’t secure the rebound, and John Collins tipped the ball back to Harden, who was fouled again. This time he made both shots with 3.5 seconds left to seal the win on a day when he also had nine assists and seven rebounds.
Jordan Miller scored 16 points and Ivica Zubac added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who were without the injured star Kawhi Leonard (left knee contusion) for a second straight game. John Collins scored 11 points and Kris Dunn added 10.
The Clippers won despite shooting 5 for 28 from 3-point range (17.9%). They shot 33 for 38 from the free-throw line and outscored the Wizards 60-38 in the paint.
Alex Sarr had 28 points and six rebounds to lead the Wizards, who lost their seventh straight. George had 18 points, six assists and six rebounds, but he missed a trio of key shots in the last couple of minutes for Washington. Bub Carrington added 17 points, Tre Johnson had 15 and Khris Middleton finished with 11.
Although the two teams have been headed in opposite directions of late, this game was close basically the whole way (11 ties, 10 lead changes).
The Clippers used a 7-1 run at the end of the first quarter to tie the score at 26-all. They went ahead 50-44 on a Nicolas Batum 3-pointer with 3:09 left in the second quarter before Washington cut the deficit to 54-53 by halftime.
Washington opened the third quarter on a 17-6 run to take a 70-60 lead with 7:52 left in the period, but Harden sparked the Clippers with eight points during a 10-0 run before George hit a 3-pointer to put the Wizards ahead 81-79 at the end of the third quarter.
A Harden layup put the Clippers up by three with 1:06 left, but Middleton was fouled on a 3-point shot with 57.6 seconds left, and he made all three free throws to tie it at 106.
Harden finished 9 for 17 from the field and 18 for 20 from the foul line while becoming one of 10 players in NBA history to score at least 1,000 total points in 15 consecutive seasons.
STILL OUT
Trae Young (knee, quadriceps) still hasn’t played for the Wizards since being acquired in a trade with Atlanta and is expected to be out through next month’s All-Star break.
UP NEXT
The Clippers conclude their three-game trip at Chicago on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.