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James Harden Reacts to Kevin Durant's Comments After Clippers-Suns

The Phoenix Suns defeated the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome.

Joey Linn

LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) dribbles the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) at Intuit Dome.
LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) dribbles the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) at Intuit Dome. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The LA Clippers opened their brand new Intuit Dome on Wednesday night with an overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns. It was an exciting game and a historic day for the Clippers franchise.

Star point guard James Harden led all scorers with 29 points, adding 12 rebounds and eight assists. While it was an overall solid showing for Harden, he converted on just 10 of his 28 field goal attempts and turned the ball over a game-high eight times.

Harden had two free throws to tie the game in the final seconds of overtime, but only converted on one of them. The Clippers fell 116-113.

Intuit Dome
A general overall view of the Intuit Dome opening night game between the Phoenix Suns and the LA Clippers. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Speaking with reporters after the game, Suns star Kevin Durant reacted to playing at Intuit Dome for the first time.

“Incredible,” Durant said. “I loved it. I absolutely love the wall that they got. It’s insane… Steve is doing a great job with this franchise.”

Durant added that he was staring at The Wall all game, which is the Clippers’ steep section of 51 uninterrupted rows the Suns were shooting towards in the second half.

“That’s the whole point,” Harden said with a laugh when asked about Durant’s comments. “That’s the distraction. They come in here looking up and we’re scoring a basket.”

Durant missed two free throws in the fourth quarter that not only got The Wall excited, but gave the entire building free Chick-fil-A.

"It's gonna be a tough road environment for whoever comes in here," Durant added after the game.

While the Clippers did not get the win, it was a special night in Inglewood and a historic day for the franchise.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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