James Harden sat out against the Thunder with a severe calf injury

ByNBAUSA



James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers continue to fighting until mid-Decemberand it looks like things won’t get any easier until the end of the month.

After playing in 25 of the first 26 games, Harden will miss his first game of the 2025-26 season due to injury. Harden missed a game for personal reasons back on Nov. 6 against the Phoenix Suns, but this will be the first game of the season he will miss due to injury.

Harden did not practice Saturday with a left calf contusion, but participated Sunday, and was considered questionable for Monday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He was able to play 31 minutes, although he didn’t move well, finishing with just 13 points and six assists on 4-of-10 shooting.

James wants to play every night, head coach Tyronn Lue said he said after the Clippers loss to Grizzly. “Just the thought of trying to get him out was huge for us. You could tell he wasn’t himself the whole game. We were just checking him and trying to monitor it, and I just give him respect for trying to get out.”

The Clippers point guard did not travel with the team to Oklahoma City for Thursday night’s game against the Thunder. His status at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night is also in question.

Nicolas Batum, who missed the last few days of practice in Los Angeles, traveled with the team to Oklahoma City and was not listed on the team’s injury report. Derrick Jones Jr. remains out with a sprained MCL, but was seen doing some work on the court during a recent Clippers practice.

In 25 games this season, James Harden is averaging 26.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.3 steals on 44 percent shooting from the field and 37.6 percent from three. This is Harden’s best season since his final season with the Houston Rockets in 2019-20.





2025-12-18 01:52:00

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