Duo James Harden – Kawhi Leonard tames the Sun

After a huge upset in Utah, the Clippers returned to the Intuit Dome to challenge the Suns, a former franchise of some Bradley Beal. Like the match against the Jazz, Los Angeles did not shine in the first minutes and suffered a 15-0 run that allowed Phoenix to quickly take a nine-point lead (23-14).

Short-term progress since then James Harden (30 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) had a perfect first quarter with 14 points on 4/4 shooting and 2/2 from distance to get his team back into the game. The result, the home team leads 34-33 after twelve minutes of play.

Early in the second quarter, the Clippers went on a 12-0 run Kawhi Leonard (27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) much stronger than against the Jazz. Two-time NBA champion begins with interception at Collin Gillespie leading to a dunk on the counterattack. He then followed up with an arrow from behind the arc and a mid-range shot to give the Clippers a three-point advantage, the biggest deficit of the match (46-33).

The first authoritarian victory

This gap continues to grow thanks to the Angelinos’ 3-point prowess. At halftime, the Clippers were shooting 61% from distance with the still-unstoppable James Harden leading the way. When entering the dressing room, “beard” posted 26 points on 7/9 shooting on 5/6 from distance for a 16-point lead.

Tyronn Lue’s men started the second half with a 5-0 lead during which Kawhi Leonard converted 2+1 and passed the advantage of twenty points (77-56). Unlike the match against Sacramento, the Suns did not come back and continued to sink against a perfectly trained team of Clippers.

Phoenix ended up losing 129-102 and suffered its first loss of the season before traveling to Denver to take on the Nuggets this Saturday. Conversely, the Clippers won their first game of the 2025-26 season before facing the Blazers, winning for the Warriorsthis week.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– A heated James Harden in the first half. During the first match against the Jazz, James Harden certainly achieved a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, but he did not strive for the game. During this duel against the Suns, the opposite happened. Although the Clippers appeared to be off to a rough start, the 2018 MVP got his team back on track with an 8-0 run in which he scored five points to help Los Angeles climb back to 28. The 2018 MVP had a perfect first quarter with 14 points on 4/4 shooting and 2/2 from distance. In the second act, he continued his momentum and scored 26 points on 7/9 shooting when he returned to the locker room.

– The sun without a solution. Still without Jalen Green, The Suns were almost non-existent during this match. If James Harden’s hot streak caused serious problems for the Phoenix defense, it wasn’t the only reason for this tough loss. After conceding 71 points in the first half in Game 1 against the Kings, the Suns scored 72. Phoenix was unable to contain the duo Derrick Jones Jr. Chris Dunn. The first helped the Clippers come back, while the second allowed the Angelinos to get back in front at the end of the first quarter. Then, a surgical Kawhi Leonard early in the second act widened a gap in favor of Los Angeles that the Suns could never fill.