James Harden dashed the Atlanta Hawks’ hopes of winning the game on Monday with a key four-point conversion. The visiting LA Clippers led 139-133 with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter when Harden made the big play. LA’s point guard dribbled and forced a foul on Trae Young while connecting on a three-point attempt.
After Harden made the bonus free throw, LA had a 142-133 lead, which all but ended any chance for the host team to catch up. The former MVP finished with 30 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and one block.
James Harden tweeted this after the game:
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“felt like Killer Mike in the A tonight”
For some reason, the LA Clippers superstar changed it to:
“Grammy Road Trippin”
The reference to “Killer Mike” is obvious to rap fans. Michael Render in real life, the artist won three Grammy Awards before he was arrested by the LAPD. He was escorted out of the Crypto.com Arena, the Clippers’ shared home court with the LA Lakers, in handcuffs. The rapper was reportedly later released on “zero bail.”
The “Run the Jewels” rapper won every category he was nominated in. He took home the Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Album for his self-entitled release “Michael.” Render, who is also an actor, accepted the awards and put on a little dance on stage for the “sweep.”
James Harden did not use his vocals to entertain the State Farm Arena crowd in Atlanta but he did put on a basketball show. The Clippers capped off a seven-game road trip with an exhilarating win against the Hawks to finish with a 6-1 record during the said stretch. Harden has been a big factor for the Clippers since they acquired him from the Philadelphia 76ers in early December.
James Harden likely had Killer Mike as his inspiration tonight
James Harden has close relationships with several famous rappers. What happened to Killer Mike was likely something he heard about while he was in Atlanta. It’s not farfetched to say that he may have gotten some inspiration from the Grammy-winning artist.
Despite playing the second night of a back-to-back set, the 34-year-old Harden didn’t look fatigued. He played a game-high 39 minutes and helped Kawhi Leonard carry the LA Clippers to the win. Harden went 7-for-14, including 6-for-9 from behind the arc, none bigger than his crucial triple against Trae Young.
“The Beard” did his damage with both his scoring and playmaking. With the Hawks desperately trying to cut the lead, he put on a poised and controlled game. Harden has been fairly criticized for not being in shape for most of his career.
On Monday night, his detractors couldn’t do that as he played arguably better than anybody. He would not have accomplished that if he had not been in tip-top shape.
On a night Killer Mike grabbed the headlines, James Harden made sure he got his fair share of the limelight too.
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