James Harden pours in 30 as Clippers smash Suns

James Harden scored 26 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, and the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the middle periods to cruise past the Phoenix Suns 129-102 on Friday in Inglewood, Calif. Harden got rolling on offense early, igniting an early Clippers rally from a nine-point deficit. He sank three 3-pointers in a 37-second stretch late in the first half. Los Angeles held Phoenix to just 7-of-24 shooting (29.2%) from the floor in the second period while hitting 14 of 21 (66.7%) on the other end. The Clippers outpaced the Suns in the quarter 38-23 to take a 16-point lead into the break, then continued the onslaught after halftime. The hosts outshot the Suns in the third quarter, 11-for-17 (64.7%) to 7-for-22 (31.8%), opening up a lead of as many as 32 points. Kawhi Leonard, coming off a rough performance on offense in Los Angeles' season-opening loss at Utah, regrouped with 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting on Friday. He scored 10 points in the third quarter. Leonard added five rebounds and five assists, complementing Harden's solid all-around game that featured seven rebounds and seven assists. Harden shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range, joining Derrick Jones Jr. in pacing the Clippers to a 16-of-29 performance (55.2%) from beyond the arc. Jones went 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts and 6-for-6 from the floor overall on the way to 17 points. Los Angeles' Kris Dunn added 14 points and John Collins chipped in 10, both coming off the bench. Offseason veteran acquisitions Brook Lopez and Chris Paul combined for only six points — with Lopez accounting for all six — but Lopez grabbed six rebounds and Paul dished a game-high eight assists. The Los Angeles defense limited Phoenix's Devin Booker, who scored 31 points in a season-opening win over the Sacramento Kings, to 18 points. The Clippers also forced Booker into three of Phoenix's 18 turnovers. Phoenix's Dillon Brooks committed four turnovers but finished with a team-high 21 points. Brooks shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range, while the rest of the Suns went 11-for-42. Collin Gillespie, who scored 13 points off the bench, shot 3-for-8 from long range. –Field Level Media

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