James Harden makes LA history with a 40-point triple-double against the Mavericks

During NBA Cup action on friday night, Los Angeles Clippers faced the Dallas Mavericks in a battle between two struggling teams. The The Clippers were still without Kawhi Leonardwho is currently dealing with ankle and foot injuries, therefore James Harden once again shouldered the burden of having to snap his team’s six-game losing streak despite being on the road.

That’s exactly what Harden did. He had his best game of the 2025-26 season so far, dropping a vintage performance — 41 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists — in a 133-127 double-overtime win over the Mavericks.

In doing so, Harden made Clippers history by being the first player in history in the franchise’s 56 seasons to achieve a 40-point triple-double, as noted by NBA insider Marc Stein. Furthermore, according to ClutchPoints, Clippers beat reporter Tomer Azarly, Harden became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double. At 36 years and 81 days, he surpassed Larry Bird (35 years, 99 days) for the old man’s feat.

Harden may not be the superstar he once was, but he remains an incredible player who gets his teams wins during the regular season. Now he faces perhaps the toughest challenge of his career. The Clippers are without a shot maker due to Leonard’s injury and Bradley Beal is out for the rest of the seasonso the onus is on Harden to carry this team. And to his credit, he was great at it.

Regardless, Leonard may need to return soon so Harden doesn’t burn himself out carrying the team like this early in the year.

The Clippers move to 4-8 on the season after the NBA Cup win against the Mavericks

Many looked at the Clippers and thought they were one of the most improved teams in the league this past offseason, if not the most improved. But little did everyone know that Beal would stink and miss a good chunk of the season, Chris Paul was completely washed out, and so was Brook Lopez. John Collins wasn’t very good either.

The Clippers are in a tough spot, and it’s not entirely clear whether Harden will be able to maintain this elite play long enough to keep his team alive in a stacked Western Conference.