James Harden, LA Clipped By New York Knicks in RJ Barrett's Return

The New York Knicks spoiled James Harden's Los Angeles Clippers debut with a brilliant second half effort.

Perhaps in the spirit of Daylight Savings Time, the New York Knicks simply needed about an hour to find their bearings at Madison Square Garden.

New York earned its first home win of the 2023-24 season on Monday night, topping the Los Angeles Clippers by a 111-97 final. The victory spoiled James Harden's red-and-blue debut and put the Knicks (3-4) back in the left-hand column of the standings after consecutive losses. 

Julius Randle upped the penetration in his best game of the season, scoring a Knicks-best 27 points to go with 10 rebounds. RJ Barrett, back from a two-game medical absence, was right behind him with 26 while Mitchell Robinson (13 to accompany 15 more rebounds and four steals) and Josh Hart (10 off the bench) likewise reached their season-best tallies. Donte DiVincenzo had 12 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes of relief. 

Barrett reached a milestone upon his return to the lineup, as the 23-year-old became the youngest New Yorker to tally 5,000 points in a Knick uniform.

RJ Barrett put up 26 upon his return to the Knicks lineup on Monday / USA TODAY SPORTS

New York also held its opponent to double-figures on the scoreboard for the fourth time this season, having done so on 11 occasions all of last year.

Both teams struggled to find their bearings in the first half, which ended with Los Angeles (3-3) nursing a 46-42 lead at intermission. Los Angeles shot just over 47 percent in the first half but the Knicks kept pace by forcing 10 turnovers and hitting all nine of their free throw attempts. 

The Knicks pulled away from the NBA's newest supposed superteam with 69 over the final 24 minutes, which included a dominating 35-21 advantage in the last frame. Having knotted things up at 76-all by the end of the third, the Knicks established a permanent lead with an instantaneous 7-0 run capped off by Hart intercepting a Norman Powell pass and finding a streaking Barrett downcourt. The result forced Los Angeles into a timeout amid a euphoric MSG.

That stoppage, however, did nothing to stifle the Knicks' momentum: Harden sank three from the foul line out of the gate but Jalen Brunson found Isaiah Hartenstein for an alley-oop that tipped off a 21-9 run over the next five-plus minutes that officially buried the Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 18 points in defeat while Harden had 17 alongside Russell Westbrook in just over 31 minutes of action. Monday also marked the season debut for Harden, who watched his final Philadelphia 76ers games from the sidelines before the team fulfilled his trade request that also yielded veteran reserve PJ Tucker. Paul George went 2-of-11 from the field in defeat and lost four of the Clippers' 22 turnovers.  

A rematch between the interconference foes is scheduled for Dec. 16 at Crypto.com Arena. In the meantime, the Knicks will continue a three-game homestand at MSG on Wednesday night when Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs come to visit (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).